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INSTITUTES
O F
Natural and Revealed
RELIGION.
VOL. I.
CONTAINING
The Elements of Natural Religion %
To which is prefixed,
An EfTay on the belt Method of communicating
religious Knowledge to the Members of Chriftian
Societies.
By JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, LL. D. F.R.S
JViJdom is the principal Thing,
Solomon,
LONDON:
Printed for J. Johnson, No, 72, in St. PauPs
Church- Yard, mdcclxxii.
3 \T
To THE YOUNGER PART OF THE
CONGREGATION OF PROTES-
tant Dissenters at Mill-
Hill, in Leeds.
My young friends,
T was on your account that I com-
pofed thefe Injiituies of natural
and revealed religion > and to you I
take the liberty to dedicate them.
It is the earneft wifh of my heart,
that your minds may be well efta-
bliined in the found principles of
religious knowledge, becaufe I am ful-
ly perfuaded, that nothing elfe can
be a fufficient foundation of a virtu-
ous and tnily refpe&able condud in
life, or of good hope in death. A
a 2 mind
iv
The Dedication
mind deftitute of knowledge (and,
comparatively fpeaking, no kind of^
knowledge, befides that of religion,
deferves the name) is like a field on
w7hich no culture has been beftowed,
which, the richer it is, the ranker
weeds it will produce. If nothing
good be fown in it, it will be occu-
pied by plants that are ufelefs or
noxious.
Thus the mind of man can never
be wholly barren. Through our
v/hole lives we are fubjedt to fuccef-
five impreffions ; for, either new ideas
are continually flowing in, or traces
of the old ones are marked deeper.
If therefore, you be not acquiring
good principles, be affured that you
are acquiring bad ones ; if you be
not forming virtuous habits, you are,
how infenfibly foever to your felves,
forming vicious ones ; and, inftead
The Dedication.
v
of becoming thofe amiable obje&s in
yourfelves, and thofe valuable mem-
bers of fociety, which nature, and
the God of nature intended that you
fhould be, you will be at beft, ufe-
lefs cumberers of the ground, a dead
weight upon the community, receiv-
ing fupport and advantage, but con-
tributing nothing in return ; or you
will be the pefts of fociety, growing
continually more corrupt yourfelves,
and contributing to the corruption
of others.
Finding yourfelves, therefore, in
fuch a world as this, in which no-
thing is at a ftand, it behoves you fe-
rioufly to refledl upon your fituation
and profpe&s. Form, then, the
generous refolution (and every thing
depends upon your refolution) of be-
ing at prefent what you will certain-
ly wi£h you had been fome years
a 3 hence,
vi
The Dedication.
hence, what your beft friends wilh
you to be, and what your maker has
intended, fitted, and enabled you
to be.
Above all things, be careful to im-
prove and make ufe of the reafon
which God has given you, to be the
guide of your lives, to check the ex-
travagance of your paffions, and to
affift you in acquiring that knowledge,
without which your rational powers
v/ill be of no advantage to you. If
you wrould diftinguifh yourfelves as
men, and attain the true dignity, and
proper happinefs of your natures, it
muft be by the exercife of thofe fa-
culties which are peculiar to you as
men. If you have no higher object
than the gratification of your animal
appetites and paffions, you rank your-
felves with the brute beajls ; but, as
you will flill retain that refection,
which
The Dedication. vii
which they have not, you will never
have that unallayed enjoyment of a
fen fual life which they have. In
fadt, you are incapable of the hap-
pinefs of brute animals. Afpire,
therefore, to thofe fuperior purfuits
and gratifications for which you were
formed, and which are the preroga-
tive and glory of your natures.
Let me urge you, my younger
hearers, to a more than ordinary at-
tention to regularity and propriety of
behaviour, becoming men and chrif-
tians, that your conduct may be no
difgrace to the rational and liberal fen-
timentSy which I truffc you have im-
bibed. Let it be feen, that when
God is confidered as the proper ob-
ject of reverence, love, and confi-
dence, as the benevolent Father of
all his offspring of mankind, and their
righteous and impartial moral gover-
a 4 nor,
viii The Dedication.
nor, the principle of obedience is the
moft ingenuous and effectual. Che-
rifh the moft unfeigned gratitude to
the Father of lights* that your minds
are no longer bewildered with the
gloom and darknefs, in which our
excellent religion was, for fo many
ages, involved ; but let this conside-
ration be a motive with you to walk
as becomes fo glorious a light. If
your conduft be fuch as, inftead of
recommending your own generous
principles, furnifhes an excufe to o-
thers, for acquiefcing in their preju-
dices and errors, all the dilhonour
which is thereby thrown upon God,
and the injury which will be done to
the pure religion of Jefus Chrift, by
keeping it longer in a corrupted ftate
at home, and preventing its propa-
gation abroad, will be your peculiar
guilt, and greatly aggravate your con-
demnation.
Value
The Dedication* ix
Value the fcriptures, as a treafury
of divine knowledge, confifting of
books which are eminently calculated
to infpire you with juft fentiments,
and prompt you to right conduit *>
and confider them alfo as the only
proper authority in matters of faith.
In a thing fo interefting to you as
the bufinefs of religion, affecting the
regulation of your condud: here, fo
as to prepare you for immortal hap-
pinefs hereafter, refpe£t no human au-
thority whatever. Submit to thofe
who are inverted with the fupreme
power in your country, as your law-
ful civil magijiratesy but if they would
prefcribe to you in matters of faith,
fay that you have but one Father even
God, and one Mafter even Chriji, and
JLand fafi in the liberty with which he
has made you free. Refpedt a parlia -
mentary king, and chearfully pay all
a 5 parlia?nentary
X
T/je Dedication.
parliamentary taxes ; but (with a re-
fpectable member of the Brithh houfe
of Commons, in the debate relating to
the adt of William and Mary, which
makes it conftfcation of goods and
imprifonment for life, to deny the
dodtrine of the Trinity) have no-
thing to do with a parliamentary re-
ligion, or a parliamentary God.
Religious rights, and religious liber-
ty, are things of ineflimable value.
For thefe have many of our ancestors
fuffered and died ; and fhall we, in
the funfhine of profperity, defert that
glorious caufe, from which no ftorms
of adverfity or periecution could make
them fwerve. Let us confider it as a
duty of the firft rank with refpect to
moral obligation, to tranfmit to our
pofterity, and to provide, as far as we
can, for tranfmitting, unimpaired, to
the lateft generations, that generous
The Dedication.
xi
zeal for religion and liberty, which
makes the memory of our forefa-
thers fo truly illuftrious.
Solongasitfhall pleafethat God, in
whofe hands our breath is, and whofe
are all our ways, to continue me in
that relation, in which I think my-
felf happy in {landing to you at pre-
fent, I truft that I fliall not fail to
endeavour toimprefs your minds with
a juft fenfe of what you owe to God,
to your country, and to mankind.
Let it be our mutual care to derive
the moll durable advantage from our
prefent temporary connexion, by
growing continually more ejlablijlo-
ed, firengthenedj and fettled, in the
habit and pradtice of all the virtues
which become us as men and as
chriftians; that we may fecure a hap-
py meeting, and mutual congratula-
tion
xii "The Dedication
tion in the future kingdom of our
Lord and Saviour.
I am,
My young friends,
with affe&ion and efteem,
your brother, and fervant,
in the gofpel of Jefus Chrift,
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY.
Leeds, March, 1772*
THE PREFACE.
NO branch of knowledge can be
taught to advantage except in a
regular, or lyftematical method. It is
alfo very convenient, both for the teacher
and the learner, to have the elements
of any fcience drav/n up in a fuccindt
manner; by the help of which the one
may be diredted in what order to explain
the feveral branches of it, and the other
may fee at one view all its conftituent
parts, in their natural connexion, and
thereby gain the molt comprehenfive and
diftinft idea of the whole, which is alfo
a great advantage for retaining it in me-
mory.
It was with a view to the inftrudtion
of youth that the following Inftitutes were
tompofed, and nothing more was meant,
originally, than to furnifli myfelf with an
eafy method of difcourfing upon the fub-
je&s of natural and revealed religion to the
young
xiv The Preface.
young men of my own congregation,
whom I formed into a ckfs for that pur-
pofe. But when I was induced to pub-
lifh them, for the benefit of others, I made
them a little fuller, that thofe young per-
fons who can have little or no afliftance in
their inquiries, might be able to read them
with tolerable advantage. I (hall think
myielf happy if this manual be the means
of eftabiifhing any of the youth of the pre-
fent age in the found knowledge of thofe
moft important fubje£ts to which it is ap-
propriated. I am fatisfied that no man
can write, or live, to better purpofe.
As my fole view in this fhort fyftem
was to teach the elements of religious
knowledge to perfons intended for coynrnon
and civil life, and not for any of the learn-
ed profeffions, I have avoided, as much
as I poffibly could, thofe metaphyfical
and abftrufe fpeculations, which have
been raifed from every branch of my iub-
jeft, and have chiefly confined myfelf 10
fuch confiderations as are moft adapted
to produce convi&ion in the minds of
The Preface.
xv
thofe who are not much ufed to clofe re-
flection and I have endeavoured through
the whole to exprefs myfelf with the great-
eft clearnefs and precision. For this pur-
pofe I have been obliged to depart confi-
derably from the plan of any treatife that
I have yet feen upon thefe fubjedts.
I am far, however, from being able to
promife that I fhall leave thefe fubjedts
free from all obfcurity. The mind of
man will never be able to contemplate the
being, perfections, and providence of God
without meeting with inexplicable difficul-
ties. We may find fufficient reafon for
acquiefcing in the darknefs which involves
thefe great fubjedts, but we muft never
expedt to fee them fet in a perfectly clear
light. But notwithftanding this, we may
know enough of the divine being, and of
his moral government to make us much
better and happier beings than we could
be without fuch knowledge ; and even^
the confideration of the infuperable diffi-
culties referred to above is not without its
xifc> as it tends to imprefs the mind
xvi
"The Preface,
with fentiments of reverence, humility,
and Fubmiffion.
I have alfo had another view in not
chufing to conceal fome of the great diffi-
culties which attend the demonitration, if
not of the beings yet of the moft eiTential
' attributes ) and moral government of God.
It was that the consideration of them
might make us more fenfible of the value
. of revelation j by which many of them are,
in a great meafure, cleared up, and by
which great light has been thrown upon
every important branch of natural religion.
Many unbelievers avail themfelves very
much of the diverfity of opinions which
prevails among the profeffors of revealed
religion,, and boaft of the great clearnefs^
as well as Sufficiency of the light of nature \
but the cafe is much otherwife; and there
have been, in faft, among men of the
greateft learning andacutenefs of thought,
believers and unbelievers in revelation,
as great a diverfity of opinion with refpeft
Tothe principles of natural, as of revealed
religion $
T'/je Preface.
xvii
religion ; and notwithftanding the vari-
ous fentiments of chriftians, they are all
perfectly agreed, and unanimous, with
refpeft to all the moft important doftrines
of natural religion, concerning which un-
believers in revelation have never been
able to arrive at any certainty, or uni-
formity of opinion; fo that men who
think at all are very far from getting rid
of any real difficulty by abandoning reve-
lation. Nay the difficulties which we ffiall
find upon this fubjed among chriftians,
though I ffiall not fail to ftate them with
the greateft fairnefs, fupprefling nothing
that can contribute to their ftrength, are
by no means fo embarraffing to the mind
of man, as thofe which occur in the con-
templation of nature.
If any perfon, difcouraged by thefe
difficulties, fhould think ta relieve him-
felf by rejecting all religion, natural and
revealed, he will find, if he reflect at all,
that he has miferably deceived himfelf,
and that he is involved in greater perplex-
ity than ever ; the fcheme he has adopted
not
xviii
The Preface.
not only filling his mind with great dark-
nefs and cliftrefs, but being contrary to
fome of the plaineft appearances in na-
ture, and therefore manifeftly irrational
and abfurd. In this cafe, therefore, true
philofophy will lead a man to acquiefce
in that fcheme of principles which is at-
tended with the feweft difficulties, without
expe£ting to meet with any that is quite
free from them \ and a good man will
be drawn by a ftrong propenfity to em-
brace that fyftem, the contemplation and
influence of which will tend to make him,
and his brethren of mankind, moft vir-
tuous and happy. This important cir-
cumflance will always operate as an evi-
dence for the truth of natural and revealed
religion, on minds which are not pervert-
ed by fophiftry, or vice.
In the fecond and third parts of thefe In-
ftitutes, which relate to the duty and final
expectations of mankind, it will befeenthat
I have made great ufe of Br. Hartley's ob-
fervations on man. To this writer I think
myfeif happy in having any fair opportu-
nity of making my acknowledgements,
T/je Preface.
xix
and I fhall think that a very valuable end
will be gained, if, by this or any other
means, a greater degree of attention
could be drawn upon that moft excellent
performance, fo as to make it more gene-
rally read, and ftudied, by thofe who are
qualified to do it. I do not know any
thing that is better adapted to make an
impreffion upon truly philofophical minds
than the iketch that he has given of the
evidences of chriftianity, in his fecond vo-
lume ; and for this reafon I fhould be ex-
ceedingly glad to fee that part of his
work publilhed feparately.
An
An Essay on the best method of com-
municating RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE
TO THE MEMBERS OF CHRISTIAN SO-
CIETIES.
TH E fuperncial knowledge, or ra-
ther the extreme ignorance of the
generality of youth in the prefent age,
with refpeft to religion, is the fubjedt of
great and juft complaint and for want of
being well eftablifhed in the principles of
rational religion , many of them are daily
falling a prey to enthufiafm on one hand,
and infidelity on the other. In this life
we muft not expedt any good without fome
attendant evil. The circumftance of
which we now complain has been, in part,
the natural effect of the moderation of the
prefent times, in which no perfon is even
queftioned about his religion. For as the
fubjeft is never canvafied, nor fo much as
ftarted in polite company, no perfon thinks
it
xxii The method of communicating
it worth his while to prepare himfelf for
making any reply, and confequently the
youth of this age never profeffedly ftudy
the fubje£t, or ever give more than an oc-
cafional and curfory attention to it.
Another fource of this complaint is the
little care that is now taken by parents in
the religious inftruftion of their children.
They condemn the feverity with which
they recoiled: that they themfelves were
treated, and, not confidering the advan-
tage which they derive from it, exclaim
againfl fuch exceflive rigour and aufierity,
and throw off not only the tut or ^ but al-
moft the mafler too with refpeft to their
children \ not recollecting that, after this,
there is little left of the par em that is tru\ r
valuable. To this conduft they are, no
doubt, at the fame time, fecretly influ-
enced by a regard to their own eafe ; for
upon the prefent fafhionable plan, a per-
fon gives himfelf very little trouble indeed
about forming the minds of his offspring ;
and fome may think that they have fuffi-
ciently done their duty in this refpe£l,
when
Religious Knowledge. xxiii
when they have provided them with majlers,
to fuperintend their education in general.
Many perfons will not readily adopt
my fentiments relating to this fubjeft.
For my own part, however, I have not
the lead doubt, but that, though the
maxims of our forefathers may have been
too ftridt, we of the prefent age are al-
ready far gone in another extreme, op-
pofite to theirs, and much more danger-
ous. Their method, by reftraining the
inclinations of youth, might (though, per-
haps, upon the whole, it might not) di-
minifh the happinefs of that early period
of life and in fome inftances, I doubt
not, the exceffive reftraints they were un-
der might ferve to inflame their pafllons,
and prepare them for the more unbound-
ed and criminal indulgence of them, when
they became their own matters but, in
general, habits of fobriety and moderation
were, by this means, effectually formed,
and a difpofition to licentioufnefs intirely
precluded.
On
xxlv The method of communicating
On the contrary, our greater indul-
gence to youth gives them more liberty^
but, perhaps, net more real enjoyment even
of early life ; but whatever good effect
this conduct may have upon fome inge-
nuous tempers, I am fatisfied that, in ge-
neral, it is fatal to virtue and happinefs
through life. Cur youth having had lit-
tle or no reftraint put upon their inclina-
tions, and religious principles not having
been fofficiently inculcated, they give the
reins to pleafure, at that critical time of
life, in which the paflions are peculiarly
ftrong, and reafon weak ; and the autho-
rity of a parent not interpofing, where it
is moft wanted, a difpofition to licentiouf-
nefs is compleatly formed, and fuch bad
habits are contracted, as too often end in
utter profligacy and ruin. At beft, their
minds not having been ieaibned with the
principles of religion, they become mere
men cf the worlds without vice, perhaps,
but alio without virtue.
Alfo, in confequence of the fame fu-
perficial education, to fay the leaft cf it,
our
Religions Knowledge. xxv
our youth having never thought upon
the fubje£t of religion, inftead of enter-
taining thofe enlarged fentiments of reli-
gious liberty, which will never be wholly
extindt in the breafls of their parents, the
flighted inducement is often fufficient to
make them abandon the dijfenting inter efi^
the value of which they were never taught
to underfland; and to make them con-
form to the eftablifhed religion of this,
and, for the fame reafon, to that of any
other country in the world, attended with
fufficient temporal encouragement.
With the difufe of family prayer* the
regular reading of the f crip tares has alfo
been laid afide \ fo that in moft of our
opulent families, the youth have hardly
an opportunity of making themfelves ac-
quainted with the contents of thofe books
which are the fource of all religious know-
ledge. When the bible, if there be one
in the family, is wholly negle&ed by the
parent, what inducement can the fon have
to look into it ?
b
A falfe
xxvi The method of communicating
A falfe tafte, and a pretended reve-
rence for the fcriptures has, likewife, ba-
niflied them from many of our fchools ;
fo that, except their being read in detach-
ed and unconnected portions, in places of
public worlhip, many perfons, it is to be
feared, would live and die in the utter
ignorance of the contents of their bibles.
With this negleft of family difcipline,
the negled of difcipline in our churches,
which has been owing to fimilar caufes,
has likewife concurred. In many of our
focieties, the bufinefs of catechijing has,
likewife, been laid afide, nor has any thing
been fubftituted in its place, as better a-
dapted to communicate religious know-
ledge fo that, as the minifter is feldom
feen but in the pulpit (I mean in a mini-
fterial charafter) all the opportunity that
the people have of being inftrudted in the
theory of religion, is their hearing mifcel-
laneous difcourfes, which are now almofte-
very where confined to fubjedts, which have
an immediate relation to practice, while
the
Religious Knowledge.
xxvii
the theory of religion, and the evidences of
it, are almoft wholly negle6ted.
Becaufe common fenfe is a fufficient guard
againft many errors in religion, it feems to
have been taken for granted, that com-
mon fenfe is a fufficient inftruffor alfo ;
whereas, in fa£t, without pofitive inftruc-
tion, men would naturally have been mere
favages with refped to religion ; as, with-
out fimilar inftrudlion, they would be fa-
vages with refpeft to the arts of life and
the fciences. Common fenfe can only be
compared to a judge but what • can a
judge do without evidence, and proper
materials from which to form a judgment.
Such is the evil, of which not myfelf
only, but every perfon who fcrioufly ccn-
fiders the prefcnt ftate of things among
the dilfenters, and its mauifeft tendency
in futurity, complain. Let us now con-
fider what is the moft proper ?.nd effectual
remedy for this evil, and how far the ap-
plication of it may be eafy and practicable.
As
xxviii The method of communicating
As the fource of the evil, as far as it
strifes from ourfelves, was obierved to be
two fold, namely the neglect of parental
and minifierial inftruction, it is eaiy to in-
fer, rfiat the moll complete and effectual
remedy muft be two fold alio, confuting
in the revival of that difcipline, both in
churches and private families, by which
we ourfelves received that inftruclion, the
advantages of which we are apt to over-
look, till we fee the dreadful effefts of the
want of it in others. If the difcipline of
our forefathers, in either of thefe refpects,
has been too fevere for the gentlenefs of
modern manners, let that feverity be re-
laxed, but let nothing that is really life-
ful be laid afide.
It is neceflary that more attention be
given both to the morals and the religious
inftrudtion of youth by thole who under-
take the conduct of our focieties, as well
as by their parents. If it be impoffible,
as I am apprehenfive it generally will be,
to revive the ancient forms of our church
difcipline, or to improve upon them (in
confequence
Religious Knowledge. xxix
confeqnence of which a number of the
moft intelligent, ferious, and prudent
members of our churches might be ap-
pointed to fuperintend the inftru&ion of
youth) let the minifter exert himfelf the
more in this field, which alone can pro-
mife a reward for his labours. When a
perfon's mode of thinking, and his habits
of life are fixed, as they generally are be-
fore they arrive at thirty or forty years of
age, and efpecially when they have been
confirmed by having met with no oppo-
fition or controul, from that time to a
more advanced period of life, there can
be but little profpeft of making any good
and lafting impreflions. In this cafe, a
change of thinking, or a&ing, will be
brought about, if at all, with very great
difficulty, and old notions and habits will
be apt to return upon the flighteft occa-
fions, and get firmer hold of the mind
than ever.
If men have lived all their lives unac-
quainted with better principles, the pro-
pofal of them may ftrike and influence
b 3 but
xxx T?he method of communicating
but if they relate to fubjedts which they
have often heard canvaffed, and on which
little can be faid that is abfolutely new to
them, it may be taken for granted, that
the recital of arguments which they pre-
furne have been fully confuted, will only
confirm them in their former prejudices.
It is beft, therefore, to bear with the aged7
and, in many cafes, with thofe who are
advanced to middle life, and not without
fome very urgent reafon, arifmg from
very particular circumftances, attempt
the arduous, and almoft hopelefs tafk of
redtifying their errors ; though fomething
more fhould be done towards reforming
their condudt. But in youth the mind is
flexible, opinions are unfixed, and habits
not confirmed. At this time of life,
therefore, arguments and expoftulations
may have real weight, good principles
and maxims may be recommended with
effeft ; and a little feafonable affiftance
may be fufficient to mould them to our
The
Religious Knowledge. xxxi
The great objefh of a minifter's chief
attention being thus fixed, viz. upon the
younger, and more teachable part of his
congregation, it remains to be confidered
in what manner their inftrudtion may be
beft provided for. Now it appears to
me, that the only effectual provifion for
this purpofe is a courfe of regular and
fyflematical in{lru£lion. Every branch of
knowledge is built on certain fadts and
principles ; and in order that thefe be ful-
ly and clearly underftood, they muft be
delivered in a proper order, fo that one
thing may moil naturally introduce ano-
ther. In other words, no branch of
knowledge, religion not excepted, can be
taught to advantage but in the way of
fyftem. Frightful as this word may found,
it fignifies nothing but an orderly and re-
gular let of principles, beginning with
the eafieft, and ending with the mod dif-
ficult, which, in this manner, are the moft
eafily demonftrated. No perfon would
ever think of teaching Law or Medicine, or
any other branch of fcience in the man-
ner in which religion is now generally
b 4 taught;
xxxii ^The method of communicating
taught \ and as no perfon ever acquired a
competent knowledge of Law, Medicine,
cr any other fcience by hearing declama-
tory difcourfes upon the fubjedt ; fo nei-
ther can we reasonably expeft that a juft
and comprehenfive knowledge of religion
fliouldever be communicated in the fame
ioofe and incoherent manner. Befides, it
is now too much the fafhion to negleft
public worfhip, and any fcheme of bufi-
nefs or pleafure is thought to be a fuffici-
cnt excufe for a performs abfenting himfelf
from it, even on the Lord's-day; fo that
this only means of inftrudtion, infufficient
as it is for the purpofe, is becoming every
day more uncertain and it may be ex-
pected that lefs advantage will be made
of it continually.
On thefe accounts, religious knowledge
will never be communicated, with certainty
and good effedl, from the pulpit only.
Thofe of the congregation who think
themfelves already fufficiently knowing,
will be difgufced with the repetition of e-
lementary principles j to thofe who are*
extremely
Religious Knowledge. xxxiii
extremely ignorant, it is not poflible, in
a formal difcourfe, to fpeak plainly and
familiarly enough ; and thofe whole minds
are not fufficiently enlightened, and efpe-
cially thofe whofe prejudices are of long
Handing, will be apt to take offence at
the difcovery of truths which it will be
impoffible for them to comprehend or
receive.
There can be no hope, therefore, of
doing any thing to good purpofe, in this
way, unlefs the minifter can have an op- •
portunity of difcourfing to the young men
by themfelves. He may then converfe -
with them familiarly on the fundamental
principles of natural and revealed reli-
gion ; he may fay the fame things over
and over again, and change his form of ex-
preJnon, in order to make himfelf per-
fectly underftood ; he may alfo illufcrate
what he advances by familiar inflances,.
and examples, and fet every thing of im-
portance in a great variety of lights.
Moreover, if they will fubmit to it (which
it will be greatly to their advantage to do)
b 5 he
xxxiv The method of communicating
he may examine them on the fubjedts on
which he has difcourfed, fo as to fatisfy
himfelf whether they have perfedtly un-
derftood him, whether they retain in
memory the fadts and reafonings which
he has advanced, and be fufficiently
grounded in one thing before he proceeds
to another. This method will alfo give
him an opportunity of removing any dif-
ficulties, or anfweringanyobjedlions which
may have occurred to them, or which may
have been thrown in their way by other
perfons. In fhort, I would advife a mi-
nifter to form the young men of his con-
gregation from the age of 18 or 20 to
about 30 into an academical clafs, and take
the very fame methods to teach them the
elements of religion, that he would do to
teach them the rudiments of any branch
of natural knowledge.
To make this bufinefs the eafier to the
tutor, and the more advantageous to his
pupils, it will be farther advifable, that
he give his ledtures from a Ihort text or
jyftem, written, or rather printed, that
they
Religions Knowledge. xxxv
they may have an opportunity of perufing
it, and of ftudying it when they are by
themfelves, and thereby the better pre-
pare themfelves for examination.
I do not give this advice at random, or
from theory only ; for I have, in a great
meafure, carryed the fcheme which I am
now recommending into execution and
I can affure my friends in the miniftry that,
as far as my owrn experience is a guide,
they may promife themfelves much plea-
fure, and their pupils much advantage
from the exercife.
If it can be made agreeable to the peo-
ple, I would alio adviie that the minifter
deliver the heads of his fyftem in a fetof
regular difcourfes to the congregation at
lirge, once in four or five years, that
thoie perfons whom it may not be advifa-
ble to admit to his familiar le6lures, may
have an opportunity of hearing fome ufe-
ful topicks difcufled, at lead, in a concife
manner, which they might, otherwife,
have never heard of at all. But, if the
b 6 congregation
xxxvi The method of communicating
congregation lhould not be fufficiently
-uniform in their fentiments, it will hardly
be prudent, for reafons fufficiently hinted
above, to adopt this meafure. It will
alfo depend upon particular circumftan-
ces, whether the young women fhould be
admitted to the familiar le&ures along with
the young men, or not.
That my readers may perfeftly under-
ftand my fcheme, and derive what advan-
tage they pleafe from it, I propofe, God
willing, to publiffi all the heads of my own
lectures, under the title of Inftitutes of na-
tural and revealed religion. Minifters whofe
fentiments are pretty nearly my own may,
perhaps, fave themfelves fome trouble by
making ufe of them, departing from my
particular fentiments or method, whene-
ver they think proper. The whole work
will be divided into four parts, the firffc
comprizing the principles of natural reli-
gion, the fecond the evidences of revela-
tion, the third the dodtrine of revelation,
and the fourth, an account of the corrup-
tions of chriftianity. This laft will con-
tain
' **' # " , • .v ' .■ : -*> . / i
i
Religions Knowledge. xxxvii
tain the reafons for our proteftant faith,
and alio thofe of our diflent from the
eftablifhed church of England, with
which every diflenter ought to be made
thoroughly acquainted.
Befides this principal clafs, I would
advife a minifter, who is defirous to com-
municate religious knowledge with efreft,
and who would adapt his inftrudtions to
the different ages of his hearers, to form
two other clajjcs^ one confifting of children-
under fourteen years of age. To thefe
he fliould teach a Jhort catecbifm^ contain-
ing the firft elements of religious know-
ledge, delivered in the plained and mo ft
familiar language poiTible ; and when it
is made ufe of, a variety of other quef-
tions fhould be alked, calculated to bring
the fubje£t to the level of their capacities,
A catechifm of this kind I published fome
years ago and I am fatisfied, from my
own experience, that a child, even of
four or five years of age, may be made
to underftand the moft important truths
of chriftianity, and that it is of great con-
fequence
xxxv iii The method of communicating
fequence that the minds of children be
impreffed v ith this kind of knowledge
as early as poffible. No perfon who has
actually made a trial of this method of
inftrudting children, and who can do it
with any degree of judgment, will fay
that it is a painful talk to a child. On
the contrary, I have generally found them
to be plealed, and in many cafes exceed-
ingly delighted with it.
In the other junior clafs I would teach
the knowledge of the fcripiures only. This
appears to me to be a fubject fo diftinct,
copious, and important, that a feparate
clafs ftiould be appropriated to it ; and
I think that the beft manner in which this
great end can be gained, is to have a fet
of quefiions only, printed, with references
to thofe places in the bible, which muft
be read, in order to find the proper
anfwers. Such a fcripture catechifm as this
I have drawn up, and {hall immediately
publifh for my own ufe, and that of thofe
who may approve of it. This clafs may
properly confift of young perfons of both
fexes^
Religious Knowledge. xxxix
fexes, between the ages of fourteen and
eighteen, or twenty, fo as to be an inter-
mediate clafs, between the two others.
It may be advifable, however, and may
even be neceffary at the firft, to add to
this clafs fuch members of the higher
clafs as are not fufficiently acquainted
with the fcriptures ; and, in the prefent
ftate of our focieties, I am afraid that
many fuch will be found above twenty
years of age \ but of thefe it may be hoped
that there will be many, who will not
think themfelves too old to learn, and
who may even take pleafure in fuch an
exercife as this, which is equally calcu-
lated to improve the mod knowing, as
well as to inftruft the moft ignorant.
Thefe three claffes appear to me to be
fufficient for the purpofe of communicat-
ing religious inftruftion ; at leaft, I can-
not, at prefent, think of any thing better
adapted to the purpofe. I fmcerely willi
that other minifters, who cannot but be
fenfible of the evil that I complain of,
would propofe what appears to them, to
be
xl Hhe method of communicating
be a proper remedy for it, and let us freely
adopt whatever we approve in each others
fchemes.
To make room for leftures of fuch
manifeft utility as thefe, which I have
now recommended, it were to be wifhed
that weekly^ aad other periodical preaching
leftureSy efpecially that which is in many
places preparatory to the Lord's fupper,
were laid afide. The laft mentioned fer-
vice, whatever good it may do in other
refpects, does, unqueftionably, promote
fuperftition ; continually fuggefting and
confirming the opinion, that the attend-
ance upon this chriftian ordinance requires
more particular preparation than any
other, which is an idea that could never
occur to any perfon in perufing the New
Teflament only, and can be nothing but
the remains of the popifh dodtrine o£
tranfubftantiation..
Other weekly or monthly fermons are
feldom attended except by a few perfons,
and thofe chiefly the aged, and fuch others
as
Religions Knowledge. xli
as have the leaft occafion for them ; and
they are often a burden to the minifter,
who is fenfible that he is giving his la-
bour, which might be better bellowed,
to very little purpofe. It has feemed fit
to infinite wifdom, that one day in feven
is proper and fufficient for reft from la-
bour, and the purpofes of public worlhip.
When we are got beyond this fcripture di-
rectory, all the reft is fuch will worjhip,
as no bounds can be fet to. It has cer-
tainly been the foundation of much fuper-
ftition, and has, in many cafes, occafi-
oned a fatal and very criminal negle6t of
the proper bufinefs of this life. In what
I have now faid I would by no means be
underftood to condemn all occafional a£ts
of public worfhip, as on days fet apart
for public falling and thankfgiving. or on
particular annual folemnities, fome of
which anfwervery good purpofes.
As all chriftians are brethren, and we are
exprefsly commanded to exhort one another,
I hope it will not be deemed arrogant in
me to have given my advice with refpe£fc
to a matter of fo much importance, as the
beft
xlii The method of communicating
bell; method of 'communicating religious
knowledge, in which all chriftian minifters
are equally concerned. The fchemes
which I have propofed are fuch as I can
recommend from the trial that I have made
of them, and they appear to me to be very
pradticable by any perfon who is fuffici-
ently qualified to difcharge any other part
of the minifterial duty and in the country,
I believe, that fuch fervices will generally
be acceptable as well as ufeful. As to the
city, I am not fo well able to judge but if
I be not mifinformed, the conne&ion be-
tween minifter and people is, in general, fo
flight, that fchemes which fuppofe much
perfonal refpeft for the paftor on one fide,
and an affectionate concern for the people
on the other, can hardly be expefted to
fucceed. The prevailing practice of a
London minifter preaching to one congre-
gation in the morning, and to another in
the afternoon, when each of them is able
to provide for one (as in faft they half
provide for two) tends ftill farther to fink
the minifter into a mere lecturer, and to ex-
clude the idea of every thing befides a
ftipulated
Religious Knowledge. xliii
ftipulated fum of money on the one fide,
and mere ftipulated duty on the other. In
fuch congregations one would think that
the epiftles of Paul to Timothy and Titus
were never read; and certainly the bufi-
nefs of ordination in fuch places muft be
a mere form or farce, without any mean-
ing whatever.
Hoping that my prefumption in offer-
ing the preceding advice has not given
offence, I ihall take the farther liberty to
conclude with a word of exhortation, in
which I ffiall think myfelf equally con-
cerned.
Since, My brethren in the chriftian
miniftry, in the prefent ftate of church
difcipline, fo unequal a fliare of the bur-
den is fallen upon us, let us not, through
defpair of doing every thing that ought
to be done, think ourfelves excu fable in
attempting nothing. If we cannot poffibly
warn all the unruly, comfort all the feeble
minded, inftrudt all the ignorant, confirm
all the doubting, and feek and fave all
that
xliv The method of communicating
that are in danger of being loft, let us do
all that we can in each of thcfe branches
of minifterial duty. Since, with refpedt
to the bufinefs of admonition, we are fo
circumftanced, that we can but feldom at-
tempt any thing with aprofpeft of fuccefs,
let us do the more by. way of inftruElion,
which is a field that is ftill open to us. If
we cannot reclaim from vice, let us en-
deavour to inftill thofe principles which
may prevent the commiffion of it, and to
communicate that rational and ufeful
knowledge, which is the only folid foun-
dation of virtuous practice and good con-
dud in life.
If every man be a Jleward, according to
the ability and opportunity which God has
given him of being ufeful to his fellow
ZD O
creatures, much more ought we to confi-
der ourfelves'in that light and it is re-
quired of every fteward that he be faithful
to his truft. The mailer under whom we
a6l, and to whom we are immediately ac-
countable, is the great fhepherdand bifloop of
fouls, Chrift Jefus. Our inftru&ions are to
feed
Religious Knowledge. xlv
feed his Iambs , and his fheep. Let us fee to
it, then, that none of thofe who are commit-
ted to our care perijh for lack of knowledge.
If they will die in their iniquity^ let us fo
aft under the melancholy profpeft, that
their blood may not be required at our hands ;
that we may, at leaf!, fave our own fouls^
if not thofe that hear us. When our Lord
fliall return, and take account of his fer-
vants, let it appear that we have diligent-
ly improved the talents with which we
were intruded, that of two we have made
other two, and of five ether five, &c. and
then, and then only, fliall we not be ajham-
ed before him at his coming.
THE CONTENTS.
The CONTENTS
OF THE
INSTITUTES
VOL. I.
PART I.
o
F the being and attributes of God.
— — — — page i
Sec. L Of the exiftence of Gad, and thofe
attributes which are deduced from his be-
ing confidered as uncaufed himfelf and the
caufe of every thing elfe. 5
Sec. II. Of thofe attributes of the deity
which are deduced from the confederation
of his being the Hginal caufe of all
things. « — — 15
Sec, III.
The Contents.
Sec. TIL Of thofe attributes of the divine
being which the confederation of his works
leads us to afcribe to him. page 18
Sec. IV. Of thofe attributes of God which
are deduced from the confederation of his
power , wifdom, and goodnefs jointly. 3 8
Sec. V- Of the properties of the divine
goodnefs. — ■ 45
Sec. VI. Of the moral perfections of God
deduced from his gooanefs. » $6
PART II. Of the duty, and future ex-
pectations of mankind. 66
Sec. I. Of the rule of right and wrong. 66
Sec. II. Of the different objetts of purfuit,
and the different paffons and affections of
men corref ponding to them. — — 76
Sec. III. Of the ruling paffioii, and an
eflimate of the propriety and value of the
different purfuits of mankind, — 84
§ 1. Of
The Contents.
§ i. Of the pie a fur es of fenfe. 86
§ 2. Of the pleafures of imagination. 96
§ 3- Of f elf inter eft. — 100
§ 4. Of the pajfions which arife from our
foetal nature. ■ 109
§ 5- Of the fympathetic ajfeblions. 115
§ 5« Of the relative duties. 123
§ 6. Of the Theopathetic affettions. 126
§ 7. Of the obligation of confeience. 133
Sec. IV. Of the means of virtue. 139
PART III. Of the future expectations
of mankind. «— 152
Institutes of Religion.
PART
Of the being and attributes of God,
IN thefe Inftitutes I fhall endeavour to
explain the principles of natural and re-
vealed religion ; or to affign the reafons
why we acknowledge ourfelves to be fub-
jeft to the moral government of God, and
why we profefs ourfelves to be chriitians^
and confident proteftants.
Knowledge of this kind isy in its own
uature, the moft important of any that
we can give our attention to * becaufe it is
A the
2 Injittutes of
the mod nearly connected with our pre-
fent and future happinefs.
If there be a God, and if we be account-
able to him for our condudl, it muft be
highly interefling to us to know all that we
can concerning his charadter and govern-
ment, concerning what he requires of us,
and what we have to expedt from him.
If it be true that a perfon, pretending to
be fent from God, hath allured us of a
future life, it certainly behoves us to exa-
mine his pretentions to divine authority ;
and if we fee reafon to admit them, to in-
form ourfelves concerning the whole of
his inftru&ions, and particularly what
kind of behaviour here will fecureour hap-
pinefs hereafter, Laftly, if the religion
we profefs be divine, and have been cor-
rupted by the ignorance or artifice of men,
it is a matter of confequence that it be re-
flored to its primitive purity becaufe its
efficacy upon the heart and life muft de
pend upon it. And if men have ufurped
any power with refpeft to religion which
the
Natural Religion.
3
the author of it has not given them, it is
of confequence that their unjuft claims be
expofed and refilled.
In order to give the moft diftinft view
of the principles of religion, I fhall firft
explain what it is that we learn from na-
ture^ and then what farther lights we re-
ceive from revelation. But it muft be ob-
served, that, in giving a delineation of
natural religion, I fhall deliver what I fup-
pofe might have been known concerning
God, our duty, and our future expecta-
tions by the light of nature, and not what
was actually known of them by any of the
human race; for thefe are very different
things. Many things are, in their owix
nature, attainable, which, in fa£t, are ne-
ver attained fo that though we find but
little of the knowledge of God, and of his
providence, in many nations, which never
enjoyed the light of revelation, it does,
not follow that nature did not contain and
teach thofe leffons, and that men had not
the means of learning them, provided
A 2 they
4
Lijlkutes of
they had made the moft of the light they
had, and of the powers that were given
them.
I fhall, therefore, include under the
head of natural religion, all that can be
demonftrated, or proved to be true by na-
tural reafon, though it was never, in faft,
difcovered by it and even though it be
probable that mankind would never have
known it without the affiftance of revela-
tion. Thus the doftrine of a future ftate
may be called a doftrinc of natural reli-
gion, if when we have had the firft know-
ledge of it from divine revelation, we can
afterwards fhow that the expeftation of
it was probable from the light of nature,
and that prefent appearances are, upon
the whole, favourable to the fuppofition
of it,
SECTION
Natural Religion.
5
SECTION I
Of the txiftenee of God, and thcfc attributes
which are deduced from his being conji-
dered as uncaufed himfelf and the caufe
of every thing elfe.
WHEN we fay there is a GOD,
we mean that there is an intelli -
gent defigning caufe of what we fee in the
world around us, and a being who was
himfelf uncaufed. Unlefs we have re-
courfe to this fuppofition, we cannot ac-
count for prefent appearances ; for there
is an evident incapacity in every thing we
fee of being the caufe of its own exiftence,
or of the exiftence of other things.
Though, in one fcnfe, fome things are the
caufes of others, yet they are only fo in "
part ; and when we give fufficient atten-
tion to their nature, we fhail fee, that it is
very improperly that they are termed
caufes at all : for when we have allowed
all that we can to their influence and ope-
A 3 - ration,
6
Injfitutes cf
ration, there is (till fomethirig that muft
be referred to a prior and fuperior caufe.
Thus we fay that a proper foil, together
with the influences of the fun and the rain,
are the caufes of the growth of plants ;
but, in fact, all that we mean, and all that,
in ftrictnefs, we ought to fay, is, that ac-
cording to the prefent eonftitution of
things, plants could not grow but in thofe
circumfiances for, if there had not been
a body previoufly organized- like a plant,
and if there had not exifted what we call
a constitution of nature^ in confequence of
which plants are difpofed to thrive by the
influence of the foil, the fun, and the
rain, thofe circumftances would have fig-
nified nothing , and the fitnefs of the or-
gans of a plant to receive nourifhment
from the foil, the rain, and the lun, is a
proof of foch wiklom and defign, as thofe
bodies are evidently deftttute of. If the
fitting of a fuit of cloaths to the body of
a man be an argument of contrivance, and
confequently prove the exigence of an in-
telligent agent, much more is the fitnefs
w ° r
Ot
Natural Religion.
7
of a thoufand things to a thoufand other
things in the fyftem of nature a proof of
an intelligent defigning caufe and this
intelligent caufe we call GOD.
If, for argument's fake, we fhould ad-
mit that the immediate author of this
world was not himfelf the firft caufe, but
that he derived his being and powers from
fome other being, fuperior to him ; ftili
in tracing the caufe of this being, and the
caufe of his caufe, &c. we fhall at length
be conftrained to acknowledge z fir ft caufe^
one who is himfelf uncaufed, and who
derives his being and caufe from no fupe-
rior whatever.
It muft be acknowledged, however, that
our faculties are unequal to the compre-
henfion of this fubjeft. Being ufed to
pafs from effects to caufes, and being ufed
to look for a caufe adequate to the thing
caufed, and confequently to expeft a
greater caufe for a greater effeft, it is na-
tural to fuppofe, that, if the things we
A 4 fee,
8
In/lit utei of
fee, which we fay are the production of
divine power, required a caufe, the di-
vine being himfeif muft have required a
greater caufe. But this train of reafon-
ing would lead us into a rnanifeft abfurdi-
ty, in inquiring for a higher and a higher
caufe ad infinitum. It may, perhaps, be
true, though we cannot diftinctly fee it to
be fo, that as all finite things require a
caufe, infinites admit of none. It is evi-
dent, that nothing can begin to be with-
out a caufe ^ but it by no means follows
from thence, that that muft have had a
caufe which had no beginning. But what-
ever there may be in this conjefture, we
are conftrained, in purfuing the train of
caufes and effedts, to ftop at laft at fome-
thing uncaufed.
That any being fhould be felf created is
evidently abfurd, becayfe that would fup-
pofe that he had a being before he had,
or that he exifted, and did not exift at
the fame time. For want of clearer
knowledge of this fubjeft, we are obliged
to
Natural Religion .
9
to content ourfelves with terms that con-
vey only negative ideas, and to fay that
God is a being uncreated^ or uncaufed\ and
this is all that we mean when we fome-
times fay that he is felf exiftent.
It has been faid by fome, that if wc
fuppofe an infinite fucceffion of finite beings,
there will be no neceffity to admit any
thing to have been uncaufed. The race
of men, for inftance, may have been from
eternity, no individual of the fpecies be-
ing much fuperior to the reft. But this
fuppofition only involves the queftion in
more obfcurity, and does not approach,
in the leaft, to the folution of any diffi-
culty. For if we carry this imaginary fuc-
ceffion ever fo far back in our ideas, we
are in juft the fame fituation as when wre
fet out; for we are (till confidering a fpe-
cies of beings who cannot fo much as
comprehend even their own make and
conftitution ; and we are, therefore, ftill
in want of fome being who was capable
of thoroughly knowing, and of forming
A 5 them,
JO
Injiitutes of
them, a ad alio of adapting the various
parts of their bodies, and the faculties of
their minds, to the fphere of life in which
they aft. In fadt, an infinite fucceffion of
finite beings as much requires a caufe, as
a Jingle finite being ; and we have as little
fatisfadtion in confidering one of them as
uncaufed, as we have in confidering the
other.
It was faid, by the Epicureans of old^
that all things were formed by the fortui-
tous concourfe of atoms ^ that, originally,
there were particles of all kinds floating
at random in infinite fpace \ and that,
fince certain combinations of particles
conftitute all bodies, and fince, in infinite
time, thefe particles muft have been com-
bined in all poffible ways, the prefent
fyflem at length arofe, without any defign-
ing caufe. But, ftill, it may be afked,
how could thefe atoms move without a
mover \ and what could have arifen from
their combinations, but mere heaps of
matter, of different forms and fizes.
They
Natural Religion. n
They could, of themfelves, have had no
power of a£ting upon one another, as bo-
dies now have, by fuch properties as mag-
netifm, electricity, gravitation, &c. un-
lefs thefe powers had been communicated
to them by fome fuperior being.
It is no wonder, that we feel, andmuft1
acknowledge the imperfe&ion of our fa-
culties, when they are employed upon
fuch a fubjedt as this. We are involved
in inextricable difficulties in confidering
the origin, as we may fay, of the works of
God. It is impoffible that we ihould con-
ceive how creation Ihould have been coeval
with its maker and yet, if we admit that
there ever was a time when nothing exift-
ed, befides the divine being himfelf, we
muft fuppofe a whole eternity to have pre-
ceded any aft of creation an eternity in
which the divine being was poflefTed of
the power and difpofition to create, and
to make happy, without once exerting
them or that a reafon for creating
muft have occurred to him after the lapfe
A. 6 of
12
Injlitutes of
of a whole eternity, which had not occur-
red before ; and thefe fecm to be greater
difficulties than the other. Upon the
whole, it feems to be the mod agreeable
to reafon, though it be altogether incom-
prehenfible by our reafon, that there never
was a time when this great uncaufed being
did not exert his perfections, in giving life
•and happinefs to his offspring. We fhall,
alfo, find no greater difficulty in admit-
ting, that the creation, as it had no begin-
ning, fo neither has it any bounds -y but
that infinite fpace is replenifhed with
worlds, in which the power, wifdom, and
goodnefs of God always have been, and
always will be dilplayed.
There feems to be no difficulty in thefe
amazing fappofitions, except what arifes
from the imperfection of our faculties ;
and if we reject thefe, we muft of necef-
" fity adopt other fappofitions, ffciU more
improbable, and involve ourfelves in much
greater difficulties. It is, indeed, impof-
fible for us to conceive, in an adequate
manner.
Natural Religion. 13
manner, concerning any thing that is in-
finite, or even to exprefs ourfelves con-
cerning them without falling into feeming
abfurditics. If we fay that it is impoffible
that the works of God ftiould have been
from eternity, we may fay the fame con-
cerning any particular thought in the di-
vine mind, or even concerning any par-
ticular moment of time in the eternity
that has preceded us ; for thefe are all of
the nature of particular events^ which
muft have taken place at fome definite
time, or at fome precife given diftancc
from the prefent moment. But as we are
fure that the divine being himfelf, and
duration itfelf, muft have been without
beginning, notwithftandingthis argument;
the works of God may aifo have been
without beginning, notwithftanding the
fame argument. It may make this dif-
ficulty the eafier to us, to confider that
thinking and atting^ or creating^ may be the
fame thing with God,
So
1 4 In/lit utes of
So little are our minds equal to thefe
fpeculations, that though we all agree,
that an infinite duration muft have pre-
ceded the prefent moment, and that ano-
ther infinite duration muft neceflarily fol-
low it ; and though the former of thefe is
continually receiving additions, which is,
in our idea, the fame thing as its growing
continually larger ; and the latter is con-
ftantly fuffering as great diminutions,
which, in our idea, is the fame thing as
its growing continually lefs ; yet we are
forced to acknowledge that they both ever
have been, and always muft be exaftly
equal ; neither of them being at any time
conceivably greater, or lefs than the other.
Nay we cannot conceive how both thefe
eternities, added together, can be greater
than either of them feparately taken.
Having demonftrated the exiftence of
God, as the firft caufe, the creator, and
difpofer of all things ; we are naturally
led to inquire, in the next place, what
properties or attributes he is poffefled of.
Now
Natural Religion.
*5
Now thefe naturally divide themfelves in-
to tivo clajfes ; being either fuch as flow
from his being confidered as the original
caufe of all things, or fuch as the parti-
cular nature of the works of which he is
the author lead us to afcribe to him.
SECTION H.
Of thofe attributes of the deity which are
deduced from the conjideraticn of his being
the original caufe of all things.
SINCE matter is a fubftance inca-
pable of moving itfelf ; fince it can
only be afted upon^ and we cannot conneft
with it the idea of a£lion^ or an original
power of afling upon other things, we
cannot but conclude that God is an imma-
terial being, or a fpirit. But, we muft
acknowledge ourfelves to be altogether ig-
norant of the nature or effence of God,
and, indeed, of matter too ; fince, to
the properties of length, breadth, and
thicknefs
Injiitutes of
thicknefs, we cannot be certain but that
other properties, of very different natures,
fuch as even perception and intelligence^
may be fuperadded. But Jthould this be
pofiible, we ftill cannot conceive that a
thing which, of itfelf, is fo fluggifh and
inert, fhould be the original caufe and
fountain of life, adion, and motion to
all other beings. Notwithftanding our
ignorance, therefore, concerning the na-
ture of matter, and of the properties
which may, or may not be compatible
with it, there feems to be fufficient reafon
to conclude, that the eflence of God can-
not be matter, but fomething very diffe-
rent from it, which we therefore call im-
material, or fpiritual.
Secondly, the original caufe of all
things muft have been eternal for, fince
nothing can begin to exift without a caufe,
if there ever had been a time when no-
thing exifted, nothing could have exifted
at prefent.
Thirdly,
Natural Religion
17
Thirdly, this original caufe muft like-
wife be immutable, or not fubjedt to change.
We feem to require no other proof of this,
than theimpoffibilityof conceiving whence
a change could arife in a being uncaufed.
If there was no caufe of his exiflence it-
felf, it feems to follow, that there could
be no caufe of a change in the manner of
his exiflence \ fo that whatever he was ori-
ginally, he muft for ever continue to be.
Befides, a capacity of producing a change
in any being or thing, implies fomething
prior and fuperior, fomething that can
control, and that is incapable of being
refilled ; which can only be true of the
fupreme caufe itfelf.
The immutability of the divine being,
or his being incapable of being a6led up-
on, or controlled by any other, is what
we mean when we fay that he is an inde-
pendent being, if by this term we mean
any thing more than his being uncaufed.
SECTION
i8
Injiitutes of
SECTION III.
Of thofe attributes of the divine being which
the confederation of his works leads us t&
afcribe to him.
THAT God is immaterial, eternaly
and immutable, follows neceffarily,
as we have feen, from his being uncaufed
but if we confider the effects of which he
i$ the caufe, or, in other words, the works
of which he is the author, we ftiall be led
to afcribe to him other attributes, particu-
larly thofe of power, wifdom, and good-
nefs ; and confequently all the attributes
which are neceffarily connected with, or
flow from them.
If we call a being powerful, when he is
able to produce great effe£ls, or to accom-
plifn great works, we cannot avoid afcrib-
ing this attribute to God, as the author
of every thing that we behold \ and when
we
Natural Religion
we confider the apparent greatnefs, varie-
ty, and extent of the works of God, in
the whole frame of nature ^ as in the fun,
moon, and ftars in the earth which we
inhabit, and in the vegetables and ani-
mals which it contains, together with the
powers of reafon and underftanding poflef-
fed by man, we cannot fuppofe any efiedl
to which the divine power is not equal t,
and therefore we are authorifed to fay that
it is infinite, or capable of producing any
thing, that is not in its own nature impof-
fible ; fo that whatever purpofes the di-
vine being forms, he is always able to
execute.
The deftgns of fuch a being as this, who
cannot be controlled in the execution of
any of his purpofes, would be very obvi-
ous to us if we could comprehend his
works, or fee the iflue of them but this
we cannot do with refpeft to the works of
God, which are both incomprehenfible by
our finite underftandino-s, and alfo are not
yet compleatedj for as far as they are fub->
Injiitutes of
je<5t to our infpe6tion, they are evidently
in a progrefs to fomething more perfect
Yet from the fubordinate parts of this
great machine of the univerfe, which we
can in fome meafure underftand, and
which are compleated and alfo from the
manifeft tendency of things, we may fafely
conclude, that the great defign of the di-
vine being, in all the works of his hands,
was to produce happinefs.
That the world is in a ftate of improve-
ment is very evident in the human fpecies,
which is the mod diftinguifhed part of it.
Knowledge, and a variety of improve-
ments depending upon knowledge (all of
which are direftly or indireftly fubfervi-
ent to happinefs) have been increafing
from the time of our earlieft acquaintance
with hiftory to the prefent ; and in the laft
century this progrefs has been amazingly
rapid. By means of increafing commerce,
the valuable productions of the earth be-
come more equally diftributed, and by-
improvements in agriculture they are con-
tinually
Natural Religion.
21
tinually multiplied, to the great advan-
tage of the whole family of mankind.
It is partly in confequence of this im-
provement of the human fpecies, as we
may call it, that the earth itfelf is in a
flate of improvement, the cultivated parts
continually gaining ground on the uncul-
tivated ones -9 by which means* belldes
many other advantages, even the incle-
mencies of the weather are, in fome mea-
fure, leflfened, and the world becomes a
more healthy and pleafurable abode for
its moft important inhabitants. If things
proceed as they have done in thefe re-
fpefts, the earth will become a paradife,
compared to what it was formerly, or
with wThat it is at prefent.
It is a Confiderable evidence of the
goodnefs of God, that the inanimate
parts of nature, as the furface of the
earth, the air, water, falts, minerals, &c.
are adapted to anfwer the purpofes of ve-
getable and animal life, which abounds
every
22 Injlitutes of
every where ; and the former of thefe is
evidently fubfervient to the latter \ all the
vegetables that we are acquainted with
either direftly contributing to the fupport
of animal life, or being, in fome other way,
ufeful to it and all animals are furnifhed
with a variety of appetites and powers,
which continually prompt them to feek,
and enable them to enjoy fome kind of
happinefs.
It feems to be an evident argument that
the author of all things intended the ani-
mal creation to be happy, that, when
their powers are in their full ftrength, and
exercife, they are always happy health
and enjoyment having a natural and ne-
celfary connexion through the whole fyf-
tem of nature ; whereas it can hardly be
imagined, but that a malevolent being, or
one who fhould have made creatures with
a defign to make them miferable, would
have conftituted them fo, that when any
creature was the moft perfeft, it would
have been the moft unhappy.
It
Natural Religion. 23
It agrees with the fuppofition of the
benevolence of the divine being, that
there is the mod ample provifionmade for
the happinefs of thofe creatures which are
naturally capable of the moft enjoyment,
particularly the human fpecies. We
have a far greater variety and extent of
powers, both of aftion and enjoyment,
than jany other inhabitants of the earth ;
and the world abounds with more fources
of happinefs to us than to any other order
of beings upon it. So perfe£tly adapted
are the inanimate, the vegetable, and the
animal world to the occafions and pur-
pofes of man, that we may almoft fay,
that every thing was made for our ufe ;
and though there are both plants and a-
nimals, which, in fome applications, are
noxious to us, yet, in time, we come to
find out their ufes, and learn to avail onr-
felves of their extraordinary powers.
There are many things in the fyftem of
nature, as tempefts, lightning, difeafes,
an$ death, which greatly terrify and an-
noy
24
Injlitutes of
noy us, and which are often the occafion
of much pain and diftrefs but thefe evils
are only partial ; and when the whole
fyftem, of which they are a part, and a
neceffary confequence, is confidered, it will
be found to be, as far as wecanjudge, the
beft, and the moil friendly to us upon the
whole ; and that no other general laws,
which fhould obviate and exclude thefe
evils, would have been produftive of fo
much happinefs. And it fhould be a rule
with us, when we are ccnfidering any par-
ticular thing in the fyftem of nature, to
take in every thing that is neceflarily con-
nected with it, and every thing that we
fliould lofe if we were deprived of it fo
that if, upon the whole, we fhould, in
that cafe, lofe more than we fhould gain,
we muft pronounce the thing complained
of to be beneficial to us, and fhould thank-
fully bear the evil, for the fake of the
greater good that accompanies it. Fire,
for inftance, is the occafion of a great deal
of mifchief and diftrefs in the world, but
this is not to be compared with the be-
nefits
Natural Religion.
nefits that we derive from the ufe of that
element.
It may be faid, indeed, that the divine
being might have feparated thefe things,
and, if lie had been perfedtly benevolent,
might have given us the good unmixed
with evil. But there are many pains and
evils which are ufeful to us, and upon the
whole give us a greater enjoyment of life,
as being pains and evils in themfelves. It
is a common cbfervation, that many per-
fons are much happier, in a variety of re-
fpefts, in the prime of life, and efpecialb/
towards -the clofe of it, for the pains and
the hardiliips they fuffered at their en-
trance upon it. The difficulties we meet
with contribute to ftrenpthen the mind,
by furniftiing proper exercife both for our
paflions and our underftandings, and they
alfo heighten our reiifh of the good that
we meet with. The more attention we
give to evils of all kinds, the more good
do we fee to accompany them, or to fol-
low them-; fa that, for any thing that we
B know
26
Injiitutes cf
know, a better fyftem, that is, a fyftem
abounding with more happinefs, could
not have been made than this, even as it
is at prefent •, and much more if we flip-
pole, what is very probable, a tendency to
much greater happinefs in the completion
of the whole fcheme.
One of the grcateft and moft ftriking
evils in the fyftem of nature, is that one
animal fhould be made to prey upon ano-
ther, as lions, tygers, wolves, eagles, fer-
pents, and other beafts, birds, and infects
of prey 5 and, at firft fight, it might feeni
more agreeable to benevolence, to have
formed no filch carnivorous creatures ; as
every animal would then have lived with-
out fear or apprehenfion, and the world,
as we are apt to imagine, would have been
the fcene of univerlal peace and joy. But
this is the conclufion of a fuperficial ob-
fetver. For it may eafily be demon-
ftrated, that there is more happinefs in
the prefent fyftem than there would have
been in tjiat imaginary one ; and, there-
fore
Natural Religion .
27
fore, that this conftitution of things, not-
withftanding its inconveniences, muft
have appeared preferable in the eye of a
benevolent being;.
If all the fpecies of animals had been
fuftered to multiply without interfering
with one another, they would all have
foon been involved in famine and diftrefs ;
and whenever they died, their carcafTes
would have infe&ed the air, and have
made it naufeous and unhealthy ; where-
as, at prefenr, all animals have, in gene-
ral, a fufficiency of food; they fuffer very
little from the fear of danger ; while they
are in their vigour, they are pretty well
able to defend themfelves, or to provide
for their fafety by flight ; when they grow
feeble, and life would become a burthen,
they ferve to fupport the life and vigour
of animals of a different fpecies ; and the
pangs of a fudden and violent death are
not fo dreadful as thofe that are occafion-
ed by lingering ficknefs. If any animals
diq by a natural death, there are other
B 2 animals
23 Inflkiites of
animals enow, quadrupeds, birds, and
infefts, that are ready to feize upon the
carcate ; and to them it is, in the molt
putrid ft ate, grateful and whoiefome food.
Man is a carnivorous animal, but it is
happy for the animals which he lives upon
that he is fo. What a number of cows,
and fheep, and fowls, do we feed, attend
upon, and make happy \ which, other-
wife, would either have had no exiftence
at all, or a very miferable one and what
is a fudden and unexpected death, com-
pared with their previous enjoyment^ with
a life fpent in far greater plealure and fa-
tisfaclion than they could otherwile have
known ?
Farther, all the evils we complain of
are the refult of what we call general laws,
in confequence of which the fame events
invariably follow from the fame previous
circumftances and without thoie general
laws, all would be uncertainty and confu-
fion. Thus it follows from the general
law
Natural Religion.
29
law of gravitation, that bodies heavier
than the air will, when unfupported, fall
to the ground. Now cannot we conceive
that it is better, upon the whole, that this
law of nature, which is productive of a
thoufand benefits every moment, and
whereby the whole earth, and probably
the whole univerfe is held together, fhould
be preferred invariably, than that it
fhould be fufpended whenever any tem-
porary inconvenience would arife from it ;
as whenever a man fhould ftep from a
precipiece, to prevent his breaking his
bones, or being dafhed to pieces ? If there
were no general laws of nature, caufing
the fame effedts to follow from the fame
previous circumftances, there would be
no exercife for the wifdom and underftand-
ing of intelligent beings ; and, confe-
quently, we fhould not be in circumftances
in which we could arrive at the proper
perfection and happinefs of our natures.
If there were no general laws, we could
not know what events to expedt, or de-
pend upon, in confequence of any thing
B 3 wc
30 hijiitutes of
we did. We could have none of that
pleafure and Satisfaction that we now have
in contemplating the ccurfe of nature,
which might be one thing to day, and a-
nother to morrow •> and as no man could
lay a fcheme with a proipedfc of accom*
plifhing it, we Should foon become lift-
lefs and indifferent to every thing, and
consequently unhappy.
It maybe faid, that we might have been
differently constituted, lb as to have beea
happy in a world not governed by gene-
ral laws, and not liable to partial evils.
But there is no end of thofe fuppofitions,
which, for any thing that we can tell, may
be, in their own nature, impoffible. All
that we can do, in thefe difficult fpecula-
tions, is to confider the connections and
tendencies of things as they now are and
if wTe fee reafon to conclude that, ceteris
manentibus, nothing could be changed for
the better, we may alfo conclude that the
jyftem itfelf could not be changed for a
tetter fince the fame wifdom that has fo
perfectly,
Natural Religion. 31
perfectly adapted the various parts of
the lame fcheme, fo as to make it produc-
tive of the mod happinefs, may well be
fuppofed to have made choice of the fcheme
itfelf as calculated to contain the mod
happinefs. Even divine power cannot
produce impoffibilities and for any thing
that we know, it may be as naturally im-
poffible to execute any fcheme free from
the inconveniences, that we complain of
in this, as that two and two fhould make
more than four.
Upon the whole, the face of things is
fuch as gives us abundant reafon to con-
clude, that God made every thing with a
view to the happinefs of his creatures and
offspring. And we are confirmed in this
fuppofition, from confidering the utter
impolTibiiity of conceiving of any end
that could be anfwered to himfelf in the
mifery of his creatures -y whereas the di-
vine being may be conceived to rejoice
in, and perhaps receive pleafure from the
happinefs of all around him. This, how-
B 4 £Ver,
32
Injiitutes of
ever, is the moft honourable idea that we
can form of any being ; and can it be fup-
pofed that our maker would have con-
ftituted us in fuch a manner, as that our
natural ideas of perfection and excellence
fhould not be applicable to the effential
attributes of his own nature ? Our natural
approbation of love and benevolence is,
therefore, a proof of the divine benevo-
lence, as it cannot be fuppofed that he
ihould have made us to hate, and not to
\ove himfelf.
That every part of fo complex a fyftenv
as this fhould be fo formed, as to confpire
to promote this one great end, namely
the happinefs of the creation, is a clear
proof of the wifdom of God. The pro-
per evidence of defign, or contrivance is
fuch a fitnefs of means to gain any end,
that the correfpondence between them
cannot be fuppofed to be the refult oi
what we call accident, or chance. Now
there are fo many adaptations of one thing
to another in the fyftem of nature, that
the
Natural Religion.
33
the idea of chance is altogether excluded ;
infomuch that there is reafon enough to
conclude, that every thing has its proper
ufe, by means of a defigned reference to
fomething elfe ^ and that nothing has been
made, or is difpofed of, but to anfwer a
good and benevolent purpofe. And the
more clofely we inlpeft the works of God,
the more exquifite art and contrivance do
we difcover in them. This is acknow-
ledged by all perfons who have made any
part of nature their particular ftudy, whe-
ther they have been of a religious turn of
mind, or not.
We fee the greateft wifdom in the dis-
tribution of light and heat to the different
parts of the earth, by means of the revo-
lution of the earth upon its axis, and its
obliquity to the plane in which it moves ;
fo that every climate is not only habitable
by men whofe conftitutions are adapted
to it, but every part of the world may be
vifited by the inhabitants of any other
place, and there is no country which the
B 5 fame
34
Injiitutes of
fame perfon is not capable of accuftoming
himfelf to, and making tolerable, if not
agreeable to him, in a reafonable fpaee of
time.
We fee the greateft wifdom in the vari-*
ation of the feafons of the year in the fame
place, in the provifion that is made for
watering as well as warming the foil, fo
as to prepare it for the growth of the vari-
ous kinds of vegetables that derive their
nourifhment from it. The wifdom of God
appears in adapting the conftitntions of
vegetables and animals to the climates they
were intended to inhabit, in giving all
animals the proper means of providing
their food, and the neceffary powers ei-
ther of attacking others, or fecuring them-
feives by flight, or fome other method of
evading the purfuit of their enemies. The
carnivorous and voracious animals have
a degree of ftrength and courage fuited
to their occafions, whereby they are
prompted to feize upon their prey, and
are enabled to matter and fecure it ; and
the
Natural Religion.
35
the we ak have that degree of timidity,
which keeps them attentive to every ap-
pearance of danger, and warns them to
have recourfe to feme methods of lecuring
themfelves from it. We fee the greateft
wifdom in the provifion that is made in
nature againft the lofs or extinction of any
fpecies of vegetables or animals, by their
eafy multiplication, according to the want
there is of them. The moft ufeful ve-
getables grow every where, without care
or cultivation, as for example, the diffe-
rent kinds of grafsr Small and tame ani-
mals breed fafl, whereas the large and
carnivorous ones propagate very flowly,
which keeps the demand onthe one hand,
and the eonfumption on the other, nearly
equal.
The human body exhibits the cleareft
and the moft numerous marks of wifdom
and contrivance, whereby each part re-
ceives its proper nourifliment, and is fitted
for its proper funftions all of which are
admirably adapted to our real occafions
B 6 in
36
Injiitutes of
in life. How conveniently are the organs
of all our fenfes difpofed, how well fe-
cured, and how excellently adapted to
their proper ufes ; and how exceedingly
ferviceable are all of them to us. We fee
the wifdom of God both in what we call
the inftinfts of brutes, and the reafon of
man ; each of thefe principles being ex-
actly fitted to our feveral occafions.
We alfo fee the wifdom of God in the
natural fanflions cf virtue in this world
fo that thofe perfons who addidt them-
felves to vice and wickednefs become re-
ferable and wretched in the natural courfe
of things, without any particular interpo-
fition of providence ; whereas virtue and
integrity is generally rewarded with
peace of mind, the approbation of our
fellow creatures, and a reafonable fliare
gf fecuricy and fuccefs.
Could we fee all the caufes of the rife
and fall of empires, and in what manner
the happinefs of mankind is connected
with
Natural Religion.
with great events in the hiftory of the
world, it is not to be doubted, but that
we fhould fee as much wifdom in the con-
duct of divine providence with refpeft to
them ; fo as not to doubt (though we
fhould not have been informed of it by
revelation) that the Lord God ruleth in the
kingdoms ofmen^ giving them to whomfoever
he pleafes, and promoting his own wife
and benevolent purpofes by the difpofi-
tion of them.
Laftly, it is an argument of the wif-
dom of God, that he has given wifdom to
man and other creatures, for he could not
give a power of which he was not himfelf
poffelfed in a much more eminent degree.
Thefe attributes of power, wifdom and
goodnefs, are all that we can direttly de-
monftrate from the confideration of the
works of God. Every other of his attri-
butes is deduced from thefe-, and fince
the divine being has been proved to be
powerful, wife, and good, he mull like-
wife
38
Injlitutes of
wife be whatever a powerful, wife, and
good being cannot but be. Thefe, there-
fore, together with the attributes of felf
exiftence, immateriality, eternity, and un-
changeabknefs, may be called the primary
attnbv.'-e. God; and all others may be
called fecondary ones, or fuch as depend
upon, and flow from thofe that are pri-
mary.
SECTION IV.
Of thofe attributes of God which are deduced
from the confiderathn of his power, wif-
dom, and goodnefs jointly .
AS the matter of which the world con-
lifts can only be moved and adted
upon, and is altogether incapable of mo v-
ing itfelf, or of a&ing; fo all the powers
of .nature, or the tendencies of things to
their
Natural Religion .
39
their different motions and operations, can
only be the effedt of the divine energy,
perpetually adnng upon them, and caus-
ing them to have certain tendencies and
effefts. A ftone, for inftance, can no
more move, or tend downwards, that is
towards the earth, of itfelf, than it can
move or tend upwards, that is from the
earth. That it does tend downwards, or
towards the earth, muft, therefore, be
owing to the divine energy, an energy
without which the power of gravitation
would ceafe, and the whole frame of the
earth be diffolved.
It follows from thefe principles, that
no powers of nature can take place, and
that no creature whatever can exift, with-
out the divine agency ; fo that we can no ,
more continue, than we could begin to exift
without the divine will.
God, havi ng made all things, and ex-
erting his influence over all things, muft
know all things, and confequently be
omnifcieni
40
Inftitutes of
omnifcient. Alfo, fmce he not only or-
dained, but conftantly fupports all the
laws of nature, he muft be able to forefee
what will be the refult of them, at any
diftance of time j juft as a man who makes
a clock can tell when it will ftrike. All
future events, therefore, muft be as per-
fectly known to the divine mind as thofe
that are prefent; and as we cannot con-
ceive that he fhould be liable to forgetful-
nefs, we may conclude that all things,
paft, prefent, and to come, are equally
known to him, fo that his knowledge is
infinite.
The divine being, knowing all things,
and exerting his influence on all the works
of his hands, whereby he fupports the
exiftence of every thing that he has made,
and maintains the laws which he has efta-
blifhed in nature, muft be, in a proper
fenfe of the term, omnvprefmt. For, tho*
being a fpirit, he can have no proper re-
lation to place, and much lefs to one
particular place more than another (which
Natural Religion.
4i
is a property of ipirit of which we can
have no adequate conception) he muft
have a power of a&ing every where, to
which the idea belonging to omniprefence
is fufficiently applicable.
Since God made all things to anfwer
an important end, namely the happinefs
of his creatures ^ fince his power is fo
great, that nothing can be too difficult for
him \ fince his knowledge is fo extenfive,
that nothing can pafs unnoticed by him \
and fince the minuteft things in the crea-
tion, and the mofl inconfiderable events,
may affe6t the end that he has in view, his
providence muft necefiarily extend to all
his works \ and we may conclude that he
conftantly attends to every individual of
his creatures, and out of every evil that
befalls any of them produces good to
themfelves or others.
We cannot help conceiving that any be-
ing muft be happy when he acccmplifhes
all his defigns. The divine being, there-
fore*
42
Lifiitutes of
fore, having power and wifdom to exe-
cute all his defigns, we infer that he muft
be happy, and perfectly fo. Alio, though
we cannot fay that the confequence is cle-
monftrable, we cannot but think that he
who makes us happy, and whofe fole end
in creating us was to make us happy,
muft be happy himfelf, and in a greater
degree than we are capable of being.
In all the preceding courfe of reafon-
ing, we have only argued from what we
fee, and have fuppofed nothing more than
is neceffary to account for what we fee \
and as a caule is neceffary, but not more
caufes than one, we cannot conclude that
there are more Gods than one, unlefs fome
other kind of proof can be brought for it.
Befides, there is fuch a perfeft harmony
and uniformity in the works of nature, and
one part fo exa£Uy fits and correfponds to
another, that there muft have been a per-
fe£l uniformity of defign in the whole,
which hardly admits of more than one
being
Natural Religion* , 43
being as the former of it, and prefiding
over it. It was only the mixture of evil
in the world that was the reafon why fome
of the heathens fuppofed that there are
two principles in nature, the one the fource
of good, and the other of evil, the one
benevolent, and the other malevolent.
Thefe two principles, they fuppofed to
be at prefent continually ftruggling againft
one another, though it was their opinion
that the good would finally prevail. But
we have feen that all the evil that there is
in the world is a necelfary part of the
whole fcheme, and infeparable from it
fo that the good and the evil mull have
had the fame author. Befides, they both
confpire to the fame end, the happinefs of
the creation.
Upon the whole, we may remain per-
fectly fatisfied, that there is but one God^
pofTelfed of all the perfe&ions, that have
been defcribed \ and were our minds equal
to this fubjeCt, I doubt not but that we
ihould
44
Infritutes of
fhould be able to fee, that there could have
been but one, and that two Gods would
have been impoffibie \ as much fo, as that
there fliould be in nature two umverfal
infinite feaces, or two eternities, both be-
fore and after the prefent moment. But
becaufe we are incapable of judging what
mufi have been in this cafe, we are content
to argue from what is\ and upon this
ground we have reafon enough to conclude
that God is one.
Since the divine power and wifdom are
fo amazingly great, that we cannot con-
ceive any effedt to which they are not e-
qual ; nay fmce we are able to comprehend
but a very fmall part of the aftual efFefts
of the power and wifdom of God, and
new views are continally opening to us,
which are continually exciting greater ad-
miration, there can l?e no danger of our
exceeding the truth, if we endeavour to
conceive of thefe perfections of God as
infinite. Indeed v/e have rufficient reafon
to believe that, ftridtly fpeaking, they
are
Natural Religion.
45
are fo ; though we are not able diredly to
dcmonftrate it : becaufe we, being finite,
cannot comprehend any thing that is infi-
nite ; and not being able to comprehend
an infinite effeft, we cannot fully demon-
ftrate infinity in the caufe. The extent,
and other properties of the divine good-
nefs, I fhall confider more at large.
SECTION V.
Of the properties of the divine goodnefs.
IF goodnefs, or benevolence, be the
great governing principle, cr fpring of
a6tion in the divine being, happinefs muft
prevail amongfl: thofe of his creatures
that are capable of it. If it were poffi-
ble that there fhould be, upon the whole,
more mlfery than happinefs in the creation,
it would be an argument that the fupreme
being
46
Inftitutes of
being was malevolent. For fince all I
tendencies and iffues of things were, fr
the firffc, perfectly known to him, i. .1
would, fuppofing him to be benevolert, 5
have produced no- fyftem at all, rather
than one in which mifery might prevail.
No fcheme, therefore, which fuppcres
the greater number of the creature: of
God to be miferable upon the whole, can
be confident with the fuppofition of the
divine benevolence. The means, or the
fnanncr by which the creatures of God are
involved in mifery makes no difference in
this cafe ; for if it arife even from them-
felves, it arifes from the nature that God
has given them ; and if he had forefeen
that the conftitution which he gave them
would, in the circumftances in which he
placed them, iflue in their final ruin, he
would not have given them that conftitu-
tion, or have difpofed of them in that
mariner unlefs he had intended that they
fhould be finally miferable ; that is, un-
lefs he himfelf had taken pleafure in mi-
fery, in confequence of his being of a
malevolent difpofition. Is
Natural Religion. 47
It muft be impoflible, for the fame
reafon, that the divine being fhould be
capable of facrificing the interefts of a
- greater number, to that of a few of his
creatures ; though it may, perhaps, be
neceffary, that the interefts of a few give
place to that of a greater number. For
if he had a defire to produce happinefs at
all, it feems to be an evident confequence,
that he muft prefer a greater degree of
happinefs to a lefs ; and a greater fum of
happinefs can exift in a greater number,
than in a fmaller.
For the fame reafon, alfo, the goodnefs
of God muft be impartial. Since the fu-
preme being ftands in an equal relation
to all his creatures and offspring, he muft
be incapable of that kind of partiality,
by which we often give the preference to
one perfon above another. There muft
be a good reafon for every thing that
looks like preference in the condudt and
government of God ; and no reafon can
be a good one, with refpeft to a benevo-
lent
48
Injlttiites of
i
lent being, but what is founded upon
benevolence. If, therefore, fome crea-
tures enjoy more happinefs than others,
it muft be becaufe the happinefs of the
creation in general requires that they
fhould have that preference, and becaufe
a lefs fum of good would have been pro-
duced upon any other difpofition of
things.
Thus it is probable that a variety in
the ranks of creatures, whereby fome
have a much greater capacity of happinefs
than others, and are therefore more fa-
voured by divine providence than others,
makes a better fyftem, and one more fa-
vourable to general happinefs, than any
other, in which there fhould have been a
perfeft equality in all advantages and en-
joyments. We are not, therefore, to fay.
that God is partial to men, becaufe they
have greater powers, and enjoy more hap-
pinefs than worms but muft fuppofe, that „
the fyftem in which there was provifioii
for the greateft fum of happinefs requir-
ed
Natural Religion. 4^
ed that there Ihould be fome creatures in
the rank of men, and others in the rank
of worms \ and that each has reafon to
rejoice in the divine goodnefs, though
they partake of it in different degrees.
Indeed, it were abfurd to fuppofe, that,
properly fpeaking, there was any thing
like preference in the divine being chufing
to make this a man, and the other a worm ;
becaufe they had no being before they
were created ; and therefore it could not
be any thing like affe&ion to the one more
than the other that determined his con-
duit, fn reality, it is improper to fay
that God chofe to make this a man^ and
that a zvorm \ for the proper expreflion is,
that he chofe to make a man^ and a worm.
Among creatures of the fame general
clafs or rank, there mav be differences in
advantages and in happinefs ; but they
muff be founded on the fame confiderati-
ons with the differences in the ranks them-
felves \ that is, it muft be favourable to
the happinefs of the whole that there
C ftiould
Injtitutes of
fhould be thofe differences ^ and it can-
not arife from any arbitrary or partial pre-
ference of one to another, independent of
a regard to the happinefs of the whole ;
which is what we mean by an arbitrary
and partial affe&ion.
There is a variety of cafes in which
we may plainly fee, that the happinefs of
one has a reference to, and is productive
of the happinefs of others as in the
principle of benevolence, whereby we are
naturally difpofed to rejoice in the happi-
nefs of others. For we cannot procure
Ourfelves thefe fympathetic pleafures, at
leaft, in any confiderable degree, without
contributing to the happinefs of thofe a-
round us. This, being a fource of plea-
fure to ourfelves, is a conftant motive to
benevolent a&ions.
Laftly, if God be benevolent at all, he
mud be infinitely fo at leaft we can fee
no reafon why he fhould wifn to make his
creation happy at all> and not wifh to
make
Natural Religion.
make it as happy as pojjible. If this be
the cafe, the reafon why all his creatures
are not, at all times, as happy as their
natures can bear, muft be becaufe variety
and a gradual advance are, in the nature of
things, neceffary to their complete and
final happinefs.
Befides, as there is reafon to believe
that the other perfections of God, his wif-
dom, power, &c. are infinite, it feems to
follow, by analogy, that his goodnefs
imift be fo too, though we may not be
able to prove it demonftrably and confe-
quentially.
It muft be owned to be impoffible com-
pletely to anfwer every objection that may
be made to the fuppofition of the infinite
benevolence of God ; for, fuppofing all
his creatures to be conftantly happy, ftill,
as there are degrees of happinefs* it may be
afked, why, if their maker be infinitely
benevolent, do not his creatures enjoy a
higher degree of it. But this queftion
C 2 may
52
Inftitutes of
may always be afked, fo long as the hap-
pinefs of any creature is only finite , that
is lefs than infinite, or lefs than the hap-
pinefs of God himfelf, which, in its own
nature, it mull neceffarily be. It muff be
confiftent, therefore, even with the infinite
benevolence of God, that his creatures,
which are neceffarily finite, be finitely,
that is imperfeftly happy. And when all
the circumftances relating to any being are
confidered at once, as they are by the di-
vine mind, pofitive evils have only the
fame efFe6t as a diminution of pofitive
good, being balanced, as it were, againft
a degree of good to which it was equiva-
lent; fo that the overplus of happinefs
which falls to the fhare of any being, after
allowance has been made for the evils
which he fuffers, is to be confidered as
his fhare of unmixed happinefs.
It is only owing to our imperfedtion,
or the want of comprehenfion of mind9 in
which, however, we advance every day,
that we are not able to make all our plea-
fur es
Natural Religion .
53
lures and pains perfectly to ccakfce^ fo as
that we fhall be affeCted by the difference
only. And whenever we fliall be arrived
at this ftate ; whenever, by long experi-
ence, we fliall be able to conned in our
minds the ideas of all the things which are
caufes and effects to one another, all par-
tial evils will abfolutely vanifh in the con-
templation of the greater good with which
they are connected. This will be per-
fectly the cafe with refpeCt to all intellec-
tual pleafures and pains, and even painful
fenfations^ will be much moderated, and
more tolerable under the lively perfuafion
of their contributing to our happinefs on
the whole. However, in the light in
which the divine being, who has this per-
fect comprehenfion, views his works,
(and this muft be the true light in which
they ought to be confidered) there is this
perfeCt coincidence of all things that are
conneded with, and fubfervient to one a-
nother fo that, fmce all evils are necef-
farily connected with fome good, and gene-
rally are direCtly productive of it, all the
C 3 works
54 Injiitutes of
works of God, appear to him at all times
very good, happinefs greatly abounding
upon the whole. And fince the works
of God are infinite, he contemplates an
infinity of happinefs, of his own produc-
tion, and, in his eye, happinefs unmixed
with evil.
This conclufion, however, is hardly
confident with the fuppofition that any of
the creatures of God are necelfarily refe-
rable in the whole of their exiftence. In
the ideas of fuch creatures, even when
they have arrived at the moft perfeft com-
prehenfion of mind, their being muft feem
a curfe to them, and the author of it will
be confidered as malevolent with refpe£t
to them, though not fo to others.
It feems, likewife, to be a reflection
upon the wifdom of God, that he fhould
not be able to produce the happinefs of
feme, without the final mifery of others ;
and fo incapable are we of conceiving
how the latter of thefe can be neceOary
to
Na fu ral Religion.
to the former-, that, if we retain the idea
of the divine benevolence, together with
his power and wifdom in any high degree,
we cannot but rejedt the fuppofition.
That any of the creatures of God fhould
be finally, and upon the whole, mifera-
ble, cannot be a pleafing circumftance to
their benevolent author ; nay it muft, in
its own nature, be the laft means that he
would have recourfe to, to gain his end ;
becaufe, as far as it prevails, it is dire&ly
oppefed to his end. We may, therefore
reft fatisfieda that there is no fuch blot in
the creation as this % but that all the crea-
tures of God are intended by him to be
happy upon the whole. He ftands in an
equal relation to them all, a relation in
which they muft all have reafonto rejoice.
He is their common father, prote&or, and
friend,
SECTION
5*
Injiitutes of
SECTION VI.
Of the moral perfections of God deduced
f rom his goodnefs.
THE power and wifdom of God,
together with thofe attributes
which are derived from them, and alfo
thofe which are deduced from his being
confidered as an uncaufed being, may be
termed his natural perfections ; whereas
his benevolence, and thofe other attri-
butes which are deduced from it, are
more properly termed his moral perfecti-
ons becaufe they lead to fuch conduct
as determines what we commonly call
moral character in men.
The fource of all the moral perfections
of God feems to be his benevolence and
indeed there is no occafion to fuppofe him
to
Natural 'Religion.
57
to be influenced by any other pri nciple,
in order to account for all that we fee.
Every other truly venerable or amiable
attribute can be nothing but a modification
of this. A perfedtly good, or benevolent
being, muft be, in every other refpedt,
whatever can be the objeft of our reve-
rence, or our love. Indeed the connexi-
on of all the moral virtues, and the de-
rivation of them from the fingle principle
of benevolence are eafily traced, even in
human characters.
i. If a magiftrate be benevolent, that
is, if he really confult the happinefs of
his fubjedts, he muft be jujij or take no-
tice of crimes, and punifli the criminals.
Otherwife, he would be cruel to the
whole, and efpecially " to the innocent,
who would be continually liable to oppref-
fion, if there were no reftraint of this
kind.
2. But whenever an offence can be
overlooked, and no injury accrue from it,
C 5 either
InJUtutes of
either to the offender himfelf, or to others,
the benevolence of God, as well as that of
a human magiftrate, will require him to be
merciful -9 fo that implacability, or a de-
fire of revenging an affront, without any
regard to the prevention of farther evil,
muft be carefully excluded from the cha-
ra6ter of the divine being. He muft de-
light in mercy becaufe he wifhes to pro-
mote happinefs, though he may be under
a neceflity of punifhing obftinate offen-
ders, in order to reftrain vice and mifery.
There is more room for the difplay of
mercy in the divine government than in
that of men ; becaufe men, not being
able to diftinguifh true repentance from
the appearances of it, and pretences to it,
muft make but few deviations from gene-
ral rules, left they fhould increafe crimes
and hypocrify ; whereas the fee rets of all
hearts being open to God, he cannot be
impofed upon by any pretences ; fo that
if an offender be truly penitent* and it is
known to him that he will not abufe his
goodnefs*
Natural Religion. $cj
goodnefs, he can receive him into favour,
without apprehending any inconvenience
whatever. Such cafes as thefe, how dan-
gerous foever the precedent might be in
human governments, are not liable to be
abufed in the perfedt adminiftration of the
divine being. Juftice and mercy, there-
fore, are equally attributes of the divine
being, and equally deducible from his
goodnefs or benevolence ; both, in their
places, being necelfary to promote the
happinefs of his creation.
3. As perfed benevolence is the rule
of the divine conduit, and leads him to be
both juft and merciful, fo we cannot but
conceive that he muft govern his conduit
by every other rule that we find to be e-
qually nece/Tary to the well-being of fo*
ciety, particularly that of truth, or vera-
city. All human confidence would ceafe
if we could not depend upon one another's
word ; and, in thofe circumftances, every
advantage of fociety would be loft. There
can be no doubt, therefore, but that the
C 6 divine
Infinites of
divine being, if he ftiould think proper to
have any intercourfe with his creatures,
mull be equally removed from a poffibi-
lity of attempting to impofe upon them.
" 4. As to thofe vices which arife from
the irregular indulgence of our appetites
and paflions, we can have no idea of the
poflibility of their having any place in the
divine being. We therefore conclude that
he is, in all refpedts, holy, as well as juft
and good.
There are, alfo, fome evidences of the
juftice and mercy of God in the courfe of
providence. The conftitution of human
nature and of the world is fuch, that men
cannot long perfift in any fpecies of wick-
ednefs without being fufferers in confe-
quence of it. Intemperance lays the
foundation for many painful and danger-
ous difeafes. Every fpecies of malevo-
lence and inhumanity confifts of uneafy
fenfations, and expofes the perfon in whom
they are predominant to the hatred and ill
offices
Natural Religion
61
offices of his fellow creatures. Want of
veracity deftroys a man's credit in fociety ;
and all vices, in general, make men fub-
je6t to contempt, or diflike whereas the
habitual pra&ice of the contrary virtues
promotes health of body and peace of
mind and in general, they iniure to him
the efteem and good offices of all thofe
with whom he is connedted.
Now, fince thefe evils which attend upon
vice, and this happinefs which refults
from virtue are the divine appointment
(fince they take place in confequence of
his conftitution of the courfe of nature)
they may be confidered as the natural
puniftiments of vice, and the natural re-
wards of virtue, diftributed according to
the rules of juftice and equity, and intend-
ed to inculcate the moft ufeful moral lef-
fons on all his intelligent offspring, the
fubje&s of his moral government.
We, alfo, fee fomething like the exer-
cife of mercy in the condud of the divine
provi-
Injlitutes of
providence ; fince the natural puniftiments
of vice feldom take place immediately,
but leave a man room to recoiled, and re-
cover himfelf; and, if, after a man has
been addi&ed to vice, he become truly
reformed, the inconveniences he has
brought upon himfelf are, in general, ei-
ther removed, or mitigated •, fo that he
finds his condition the better for it.
It may, alfo, according to the reafon-
ing applied in a former cafe, be confider-
ed as an argument for all the perfections
of God, that we are fo formed, that we
cannot but approve of, and efteem every
branch of virtue, For it cannot be fup-
pofed that our maker would have formed
us in fuch a manner, as that he himfelf
fhould be the objeft of our diflike and
abhorrence. Our natural love of good-
nefs and virtue, therefore, is a proof that
every branch of it enters into the character
of the divine being, and confequently
that thofe qualities are the objedls of his
favour and approbation.
Since*
Natural Religion. 63
Since, however, all the moral perfec-
tions of God are derived from his bene-
volence fo that holinefs, juftice, mercy,
and truth, are in him only modifications,
as it were, of fimple goodnefs ; we Ihould
endeavour to conceive of him, as much
as poffible, according to his real nature ;
confidering benevolence as his fole ruling
principle, and the proper fpring of all
his actions. This is, alio, the moft ho-
nourable and the moft amiable light in
which we can view him, remembering
that goodnefs neceflarily implies what we
call juftice, though its more natural form
be that of mercy,
Upon the whole, it muft be acknow-
ledged, that it is but a very imperfect
idea that we can form of the moral per-
fections of God from the light of nature.
It hardly amounts to what may be called
an idea of his character. We know no-
thing of God by the light of nature, but
through the medium of his works -9 and
thefe are fuch as we cannot fully compre-
hend ^
64
Injtitutes of
hend \ both the efficient and the final
caufes being, in many cafes, unknown to
us : whereas the clearer ideas we have of
the charadlers of men are acquired from
a reflection upon fuch parts of their con-
du6l as we can both fully comprehend,
and are capable of ourfelves \ fo that we
can tell precifely how we fhould feel and
be difpofed, if we adted in the fame man-
ner. The knowledge, alfo, of the man-
ner in which men exprefs them/elves, upon
known occafions, is a great help to us in
judging of what they feel, and confe-
quently in inveftigating their proper cha-
racter ; and this is an advantage of which
we are intirely deftitute, with refpedt to
God, on the principles of the light of na-
ture. It is from revelation chiefly, if not
only, that we get a juft idea of what we
may call the proper character of the divine
being. There we may both hear his de-
clarations, and fee various fpecimens of
his conduft, with refpedl to a variety of
perfons and occafions 5 by which means
we have the beft opportunity of entering,
as
Natural Religion . 6 5
as it were, into his fentiments, perceiving
his difpofition, learning what are the ob-
jects of his approbation or diflike, in
fhort, of gaining a proper and diftinft
idea of his moral char a tier.
PART
66
Injiitutes of
PART II.
Of the duty, and future expecta-
tions OF MANKIND,
SECTION I.
Of the rule of right and wrong,
HAVING feen what it is that na-
ture teaches us cc-ncerning GOD,
our next inquiry refpefts the proper rule
of human conduit y and our expectations^
grounded upon that conduit. No man
comes into the world to be idle. Every
man is furnifhed with a variety of paffions,
which will continually engage him in fome
purfuit or other and the great queftion
we have to decide is what paffions we
ought to indulge, and what purfuits we
Natural Religion*
67
ought to engage in. Now there are feveral
very proper rules by which to form our
judgment in this cafe > becaufe there are
feveral juft objefts that we ought to have
in view in our conduft. It is very hap-
py, however, that this variety in our
views can never mifiead us, fince all the
great ends we ought to keep in view are all
gained by the fame means. They are,
therefore, like fo many different clues to
lead to the fame end ; and in the follow-
ing inquiry I fnall make ufe of any one
of them, or all of them, as it may hap-
pen that, in any particular cafe, they can
be applied to the moll advantage,
Stri£tly fpeaking, there are no more
than two juft and independent rules of hu-
man conduit, according to the light of
nature, one of which is obedience to the
will of God, and the other a regard to our
own real happinefs for another rule,
which is a regard to the good of others,
exactly coincides with a regard to the will
of God^ fince all that we know of the
will
68
Ltftitutes of
will of God, according to the light of
nature, is his defire that all his creatures
fhould be happy, and therefore that they
fhould all contribute to the happinefs of
each other. In revelation we learn the
will of God in a more dired method, and
then obedience to God, and a regard to
the good of others will be diftind and
independent principles of adion, though
they both enjoin the fame thing. The
fourth, and laft rule of human condud,
is a regard to the dictates of conference.
But this is only the fubftitute of the other
principles, and, in fad, arifes from them -7
prompting to right condud on emergen-
cies, where there is no time for reafoning
or refledion ; and where, confequently,
no proper rule of condud could be ap-
plied.
Having thus pointed out the proper
diftindion and connedion of thefe rules,
I fhall confider each of them feparately.
The firft objed of inquiry, in order to in-
veftigate the proper rule of right and
wrong
Natural Religion.
69
wrong, is what kind of conduft the di-
vine being molt approves.
Now the divine being, whofe own ob-
ject, as has been fhewn, is the happinefs
of his creatures, will certainly moft ap-
prove of thofe fentiments, and of that
condudt of ours, by which that happi-
nefs is beft provided for and this con-
duct muft deferve to be called right and
proper in the ftricteft fenfe of the words.
If we examine the workmanfhip of any
artift, our only rule of judging of what
is right or wrong, with refpeft to it, is its
fitnefs to anfwer his defign in making it.
Whatever, in its ftrudture, is adapted to
gain that end, we immediately pronounce
to be as it ftjould be^ and whatever ob-
ftrudts its defign, tendency, and opera-
tion, we pronounce to be wrong, and to
want corre&ion. The fame method of
judging may be transferred to the works
of God fo that whatever it be, in the
fentiments or conduct of men, that con-
curs with, and promotes the defign of our
maker,
yo
Injiitutes of
maker, we muft pronounce to be, there-
fore, right ; and whatever tends to thwart
and obftrudt his end, we ought to call
wrong: becaufe, when the former pre-
vails, the great object of the whole fyf-
tem is gained ; whereas, when the latter
takes place, that end and defign is de-
feated.
2. On the other hand, if v/e were to
form a rule for our condudt independent
of any regard to the divine being, we
fhould certainly conclude that it is the
part of wifdom, to provide for our great-
eft happinefs j and, consequently, that we
fhould cherifh thofe fentiments, and adopt
that condudt, by which it will be beft fe-
cured. But this rule muft coincide with
the former becaufe our happinefs is an
objeft with the divine being no lefs than
it is with ourfelves for it has been fhewn,
that benevolence is the fpring of all his
aftions, and that he made us to be happy.
3. Since,
Natural Religion. ji
3. Since, however, the divine goodnefs
is general, and impartial and he muft,
confequently, prefer the happinefs of the
whole y to that cf any individuals , it can-
not be his pleafure, that we fhould con-
fult our own intereft, at the expence of
that of others. Confidering ourfelves,
therefore, not as feparate individuals, but
as members of fociety, another objedt that
we ought to have in view is the welfare of
our fellow creatures, and of mankind at
large. But ftill there is no real difagree-
ment among thefe different rules of con-
dud, becaufe v/e are fo made, as focial
beings, that every man provides the mod
effectually for his own happinefs, when
he cultivates thofe fentiments, and pur-
fues that conduct, which, at the fame
time, moft eminently conduce to the wel-
fare of thofe with whom he is connected.
Such is the wifdom of this admirable con-
ftitution, that every individual of the fyf-
terp gains his own ends, and thofe of his
maker, by the fame means.
The
7^
Injiitiites of
The lafl rule is confcience^ which is the
refult of a great variety of impreffions,
the conclufions of our own minds, and the
opinions of others, refpe£ting what is
right and fit in our conduct, forming a
fet of maxims which are ready to be ap-
plied upon every emergency, where there
would be no time for reafon or reflecti-
on. Confcience, being a principle thus
formed, is properly confidered as a fub-
ftitute for the three other rules, viz. a re-
gard to the will of God, to our own great-
eft happinefs, and the good of others, and
it is, in fa£t, improved and corrected from
time to time by having recourfe to thefe
rules. This principle of confcience,
therefore, being, as it were, the refult of
all the other principles of our conduit
united, muft deferve to be confidered as
the guide of life, together with them ; and
its diftates, though they vary, in fome
meafure, with education, and will be
found to be, in fome refpe6ts, different a-
mong different nations of the world, yet,
in general, evidently concur in giving
their
Natural Religion .
73
their fan&ion to the fame rules of con-
dud, that are fuggefted by the three be-
fore mentioned confederations. For, if
we confider what kind of fentiments and
condudt mankind in general will, without
much reflection, and without hefitation,
pronounce to be right ; if we confider
what are the a<5tions that we muft efteem
and admire in others, and that we refledt
upon with the moft fatis£a£fipn in our-
felves, they will appear to be the fame
with thofe which tend to make ourfelves
and others the moft truly happy.
Following thefe four guides, we fiiall
find that temperance, or the clue govern-
ment of our pafiions, with refpecft to our-
felves jjufticc, benevolence, and veracity
with refpeet to others ; together with gra-
titude, obedience, and refignation to God,
ought to be moft affiduoufly cultivated
by us j as what are, at the fame time, the
moft pleafing to our maker, the moft con-
ducive to our own happinefs, and that of
others, and the moft agreeable to the na-
D - tural
74
hifihutes cf
tural and unperverted dictates of confci*
ence.
That we are capable of governing cur-
felves by thefe rules, and, from a proper
regard to motives, can voluntarily chufe
and purfue that courfe of life which the
will of God, a regard to our own happi-
nefs, to the good of fociety, and the dic-
tates of our conferences, uniformly re-
commend to us, is fometimes expreffed
by faying that we are the prefer fubjeSis of
moral government. Unlefs we fuppofe
that men have this voluntary power over
their actions, whereby they can, at plea-
fure, either obey or difobey the proper
rule of life \ that is, unlefs they be fo
conflituted, that the proper motives to
right conduct can have a fufficient influ-
ence upon their minds, all religion is in
vain. To what purpofe can it be to give
men a law, which it is not in their power to
obferve ; or what propriety can there be
either in rewarding; them for aftions to
which they could not contribute, or in
punifhing
Natural Religion. 75
punifhing them for offences which they
could not help. We may, therefore, take
it for granted, as the firft, and moft fun-
damental principle of all religion ; as ne-
ceffary to our b ii g the proper fubje&s of
moral government, that we are equally
capable of intending and doing both good
and evil ; and therefore that is not in
vain that laws are propofed to us, and
motives are laid before us, both to per-
fuade us to what is right, and to difiuade
us from what is wrong, fince it depends
upon ourfelves, whether we will be influ-
enced by them or not.
If -we obferve the proper rules of
conduct, or the law of our natures, we
fhall fecure to ourfelves many folid advan-
tages and if we do not obferve them,
we entail upon ourfelves many evils.
Thefe are, therefore, called the punijh-
merits of vke^ and the former the rewards
of virtue ; and fince they are difpenfed by
the providence of God, and take place
according to his appointment, in the con-
D 2 ftitution
Injlitutes of
ftitution of the courfe of nature-, he is
properly confidered as our moral governor,
and judge, and we are faid to be account-
able to him for our conduft.
From a regard to the four rules of right
and wrong, explained above, I fhall now
endeavour to anaiize the fentiments, the
paffions, and affeftions of mankind, and
lay down particular rules for our conduft
in life.
SECTION II.
Of the different objects of purfuit, and the
different paffions and affections of men cor-
refponding to them.
IN order to form a proper judgment
concerning the condudt of man, as an
individual, and a member of fociety, ac-
cording to the rules above laid down, it
will be neceflary to have a juft idea of,
and to keep in view, the different obje&s
of
Natural Religion.
77
of our purfuit, and the different paffions
and affe&ions of our nature corresponding
to them.
We find ourfelves placed in a world,
in which we are furrounded by a variety
of pbjedts, which are capable of giving us
pleafure and pain ; and finding by our
own experience, and the information of
others, in what manner each of them is
adapted to affedt us, we learn to defire
fome of them, and feel an averfion to o-
thers. To thefe defires and averfions we
give the name of pajjions or affeElions^ and
we generally clafs them according to the
objefts to which they correfpond. Thefe
paffions and affedtions are the fprings of
all our adtions, and by their means we
are engaged in a variety of interefting
purfuits through the whole courfe of our
lives. When we fucceed in our purfuits,
or are in hopes of fucceeding, we are hap-
py \ and when we are difappointed in our
fchemes, or in fear of being fo, we are
unhappy.
D 3 i. The
Injlitutes of
t. The firft and lowed clafs of our de-
fires is that by which we are prompted to
feek after corporeal or fenfual plealure,
and confequently to avoid bodily pain.
Thefe appetites, as they are ufually called,
to diftinguifh them from paflions of a
more refined nature, are common with us
and the brutes ; and to all appearance
they are poffefted of them in as high a
degree as we are, and are capable of re-
ceiving as much pleafure from them as
we are. Indeed, the final caufe, or the
cbjeSt of thefe appetites is the very fame
with refpect to both, namely, the continu-
ance of life, and the propagation of the
fpecies. It was neceflary, therefore, that
all animals, which have equally their own
fubfiftence, and the continuance of their
fpecies to provide for, fhould be equally
furnifhed with them.
2. It happens, from a variety of caufes*
that pleafurable ideas are transferred, by
aflbciation, upon objects which have not,
originally, and in themfelves, the power
of
Natural Religion.
79
of gratifying any of our fenfes ; as thofe
which give us the ideas that we call beau-
tiful or fublime, particularly thofe that oc-
cur in works of genius, Itrokes of wit,
and in the polite arts of nuilic, painting,
and poetry. Our capacity for enjoying
pleafures of this kind, depending upon
the aflbciation of our ideas, and requir-
ing fuch advances in intellectual life as
brutes are incapable of, they are, there-
fore, claffed under the general denomina-
tion of intellectual pleafures (a name which
we give to all our pleafures, except thofe
of fenfe) and more particularly under the
head of pleafures of imagination becaufe
the greater part of them are founded on
thofe refemblances of things, which are
perceived and recollefted by that modifi-
cation of our intellectual powers which
we call fancy.
3. Another clafs of our paffions may
be termed the foetal* becaufe they arife
from our connexions with our fellow
creatures of mankind; and thefe are of two
D 4 kinds.
8o Injiitutes of
kinds, confifting either in our defire of
their good opinion, or in our w ifhing their
happinefs or mifery. In this latter ipecies
of the clafs, We alfo comprize gratitude
for the favours, and a refentment of the
wrongs we receive from them.
Thofe affections of the mind which re-
fpect the divine being belong to this clafs,
the objeft of them being one with whom
we have the moft intimate connection, to
whom we are under the greateft obliga-
tion, and whole approbation is of the
greateft importance to us. All the diffe-
rence there is between our affedlions, con-
fidered as having God or man for their
objeft, arifes from the difference of their
fituation with refpeft to us. The divine
being*, (landing in no need of our fervices,
is, therefore, no objeft of our benevo-
lence, properly fo called ; but the fenti-
ments of reverence, love, and confidence^
with refpeci to God, are of the fame na-
ture with thole which we exercife towards
our fellow creatures, only infinitely ex-
ceeding
Natural Religion.
81
ceedingthem in degree^ as the divine power,
wifdorri, and goodnefs, infinitely exceed
every thing of the fame kind in man.
Some of the brutes, living in a kind of
imperfedt fociety, and particularly domef-
tick animals, are capable of feveral of the
paffions belonging to this clafs, as grati-
tude, love, hatred, &c. but having only
a fmall degree of intelleft, they are hard-
ly capable of thofe which have for their
objedl the efteem or good opinion of o-
thers ; which feem to require a consider-
able degree of refinement. We fee, how-
ever, in horfes, and fome other animals,
the ftrongeft emulation, by which they
will exert themfelves to the utmoft in
their endeavours to furpafs, and overcome
others.
4. A fourth fet of paffions is that
which has for its obje6l our own intereft in
general, and is called /elf love. This feems
to require a confiderable degree of refine-
ment, and therefore it is probable that
D 5 brute
4
82 InfJtates of
brute animals have no idea of it. Their
chief objeft is the gratification of their ap-
petites or paflions, without reflecting up-
on their happinefs in general, or having any
fuch thing in view in their actions.
There is a lower kind of felf intereft,
or rather felfi/hnefs, the objedt of which is
the means of procuring thofe gratifications
to which money can be fubfervient and
from loving money as a means of procur-
ing a variety of pleafures and conveni-
ences, a man may at length come to pur-
fue it as an end, and without any regard
to the proper uie of it. It then becomes
a new kind of paffion, quite diftindl from
any other ; infomuch, that, in order to
indulge it, many perfons will deprive
themfelves of every natural gratification.
5. Laftly, as foon as we begin to diftin-
guifh among our aftions, and are fenfible
that there are reafons for fome of them,
and againft others, we get a notion of
fome of them as what ought to be per-
formed
Natural Religion.
formed, and of others of them as what ,
are, or ought to be refrained from. In
this manner we get the abftra£t ideas of
right and wrong in human aftions, and a
variety of pleafing circumftances attend-
ing the former, and difagreeable ones ac-
companying the latter, we come in time
to love fome kinds of a6tions, and to ab-
hor others, without regard to any other
confideration. For the fame reafon cer-
tain tempers, or difpofitions of mind, as
leading to certain kinds of conduft, be-
come the objefts of this moral approba-
tion, or drfapprobation ; and from the
whole, arifes what we call a moral fenfe^
or a love of virtue and a hatred of vice ia
the abftrad. This is the greateft refine-
ment of which we are capable, and in the
due exercife and gratification of it confifts
the higheft perfection and happinefs of
our natures.
SECTION
Inftitutes of
SECTION III.
Of the ruling pafiion, and an eftimate of
the propriety and value of the different
purfuits of mankind.
HAVING given this general delinea-
tion of the various paffions and
affedtioas of human nature, which may
be called the fprings of all our actions
(Tince every thing that we do is fomething
that we are prompted to by one or more
of them,) I fhall now proceed to examine
them feparately, in order to afcertain how
far we ought to be influenced by any of
them, and in what cafes, or degrees, the
indulgence of any of them becomes wrong
and criminal.
A6tuated as we are by a variety of paf-
fions, it can hardly be, but that fome of
them will have more influence over us
than others. Thefe are fometimes called
ruling
Natural Religion. 85
ruling paJ/ions, becaufe, whenever it hap-
pens that the gratification of lbme inter-
feres with that of others, all the reft will
give place to thefe. If-, for inftance, any
man's ruling paffion be the love of money,
he will deny himfelf any of the pleafures
of life for the fake of it ; whereas,
if the love of pleafure were his ruling paf-
fion, he would often run the rifque of
impoverifhing himfelf, rather than not
procure his favourite indulgence.
It muft be of great importance, there-
fore, to know which ought to be our
ruling paffions through life, or what are
thofe gratifications and purfuits to which
we ought to facrifice every thing elfe.
This is the objed of our prefent inquiry,
in conducting which we muft confider
how far the indulgence of any particular
paflion is confiftent with our regard to
the four rules of condu6t that have been
explained ; namely, the will of God, our
own beft intereft, the good of others, and
the natural di&ates of our confcience^ and
in
86
Injiitutes of
in eftimating the value of any particular
enjoyment, with refpect to the happinefs
we receive from it, we muft confider -how
great or intenfe it is, how long it will con-
tinue, whether we regard the nature of
the fenfe from which it is derived, or the
opportunities we may have of procuring
the gratification of it, and laftly, how far
it is confident, or inconfiftent, with other
pleafures of our nature, more or lefs va-
luable than itfelf.
§1.0/ the pleafures of fenfe.
Since no appetite or paffion belonging
to our frame was given us in vain, we may
conclude, that there cannot be any thing
wrong in the fimple gratification of any
defire that our maker has implanted in
us, under certain limitations and in cer-
tain circumftances and if we confider
the proper objedt of any of our appetites,
or the end it is calculated to anfwer, it will
be a rule for us in determining how far the
divine being intended that they fhould be
indulged*.
Natural Religion. 87
indulged. Now fome of our fenfual ap-
petites have for their proper objed the
fupport of life, and others the propaga-
tion ©f the fpecies. They fhould, there-
fore, be indulged as far as is neceflary for
thefe purpofes, and where the indulgence
is not fo exceflive, or fo circumftanced,
as to interfere with the greater good of
ourfelves and others.
1 . But to make the gratification of our
fenfes our primary purfuit, muft be ab-
furd ; for the appetite for food is given us
for the fake of fupporting life, and not life
for the fake of confuming food. The like
may be faid of other fenfual appetites.
Since, therefore, we certainly err from the
intention of nature when we make that an
end) which was plainly meant to be no more
than a means to fome farther end \ what-
ever this great end of life be, we may
conclude that it cannot be the gratifica-
tion of our fenfual appetites, for they
themfelves are only a means to fomething
elfe*
2, To
88
Jnfiitutes of
2. To make the gratification of our bo-
dily fenfes the chief end of living would tend
to defeat itfelf j for a man who fhould
have no other end in view wTould be apt
fo to overcharge and furfeit his fenfes,
that they would become indifpofed for
their proper fundtions, and indulgence
would occafion nothing but a painful
loathing. By intemperance alfo in eating
and drinking, and in all other corporeal
pleafures, the powers of the body itfelf
are weakened, and a foundation is laid
for diforders the moft loathfome to be-
hold, the moft painful to endure, and
the moft fatal in their tendencies and
iffues. The ingenuity of man cannot
contrive any torture fo exquifite, and at
the fame time of fo long continuance, as
thofe which are occafioned by the irregu-
lar indulgence of the fenfes ; whereas tem-
perance, and occafional abftinence, is a
means of keeping all the bodily organs
and fenfes in their proper tone, difpofed
to relifh their proper gratifications \ fo
that they fhall give a man the moft true
and
Natural Re Upton .
89
and cxquifite enjoyment even of fenfual
pleafure. They prolong life to the ut-
moft term of nature, and contribute to a
peaceful and eafy death.
3. An addidtednefs to fenfual pleafure
blunts the faculties of the mind, being
injurious to mental apprehenfion, and all
the finer feelings of the foul, and confe-
quently deprives a man of a great many
fources of pleafures which he might other-
wife enjoy, and particularly of that mod
valuable complacency which he might
have in his own difpofitions and conduft ;
from a proper and temperate ufe of the
good things of life,
4. Senfual indulgences, though^ to a
certain degree, and in certain circum-
fiances, they feem to promote benevo-
lence, are evidently unfriendly to it when
carried beyond that degree •, for though
moderate eating and drinking in company
promotes chearfulnefs, and good humour,
excefs frequently gives occafion to quar-
relling
9o
Injiitutes of
relling and contention, and fometimes
even to murder. Alio, when a man
makes the indulgence of his appetlties his
primary purfuit, befides incapacitating
himfelf for the fervice of mankind in any
important refpett, he will fcruple no
means, however bafe, cruel, or unjuft,
to procure himfelf his favourite pleafures,
which he conceives to be in a manner ne-
ceflary to his being.
5. With refpedl to the bulk of man-
kind, whofe circumftances in life are low,
the fole purfuit of fenfual pleafure is ex-
ceedingly injurious to that induftry which
is neceffary to their fupport. Indeed, it is
often fufficient to diffipate the moft ample
fortune, and reduce men from affluence
to poverty, which, in fuch circumftances,
they are leaft able to ftruggle with.
It is impoflible that we fhould not con-
demn a difpofition and purfuit fo circum-
ftanced as this. An addictednefs to fenfual
pleafures is manifeftly incompatible with
our
Natural Religion.
9*
our own true intereft, it is injurious to o-
thers, and, on both thefe accounts, muft
be contrary to the will of God. The
vices of gluttony, drunkennefs, and lewd-
nefs are alfo, clearly contrary to the na-
tural dictates of our minds ; and every
man who is guilty of them, feels himfelf
to be defpicable and criminal, both in his
own eyes, and thole of others.
The only rule with refpedt to our diet,
is to prefer thofe kinds, and that quantity
of food, which moft conduces to the
health and vigour of our bodies. What-
ever in eating or drinking is inconfiftent
with, and obftrufts this end, is wrong,
and fhould carefully be avoided ; and e-
very man's own experience, affifted with a
little information from others, will be fuf-
ftcent to inform him what is nearly the
beft for himfelf in both thofe refpedls ; fo
that no pcrfon is likely to injure himfelf
much through mere miftakc,
With
9~
Injlitutes of
With refpeft to thofe appetites that are
fubfendent to the propagation of the fpe-
cies, I would obferve, that the experience
of ages tefUfies, that marriage^ at a pro-
per time of life, whereby one man is con-
fined to one woman, is mod favourable to
health and the true enjoyment of life. Ir
is a means of raifing; the greateft number
of healthy children, and makes the beft
provifion for their inftrudtion and fettle-
ment in life ; and nothing more need be
faid to fhew that this ftate of life has e-
very charafter of what is right, and what
ought to be adopted, in preference to e-
very other mode of indulging our natural
paffions.
Marriage is, moreover, of excellent ufe
as a means of transferring our afFedtions
from ourfelves to others. We fee, not in
extraordinary cafes, but generally, in com-
mon life, that a man even prefers the
happinefs of his wife and children to his
o\vn; and his regard for them is frequent-
ly a motive to fuch induftry, and fuch an
exertion
Natural Religion.
93
exertion of his powers, as would make
him exceedingly unhappy, if it were not
for the confideration of the benefit that
accrues to them from it. Nay, in many
cafes, wTe fee men Hiking their lives, and
even milling on certain death, in their
defence. The fame, alfo, is generally the
attachment of wives to their hufbands,
and fometimes, but not fo generally, the
attachment of children to their parents.
We may add, that when once a man's
affections have been transferred from him-
felf to others, even his wife and children,
they are more eafily extended to other
perfons, ftill more remote from him, and
that, by this means, he is in the way of
acquiring a principle of general benevo-
lence, patriotifm, and public fpirit, which
perfons who live to be old without ever
marrying are not fo generally remarkable
for. The attention of thefe perfons hav-
ing been long confined to themfelves, they
often grow more and more felfifh and
narrow fpirited, fo as to be actuated in all
their
94
Injiitutes of
their purfuits by a joylefs defire of accu-
mulating what they cannot confume them-
felves, and v/hat they muffc leave to thofe
who they know, have but little regard
for them, and for whom they have but
little regard.
A feries of family cafes (in which a
confiderable degree of anxiety and pain-
ful fympathy have a good effeel) greatly
improves, and as it were mellows ^ the mind
of man. It is a kind of exercife and dif-
cipline, which eminently fits him for great
and generous condudt ; and, infa6t, makes
him a fuperior kind of being, with refpedl
to the generality of thofe who have had
no family connections.
On the other hand, a courfe of lewd
indulgence, without family cafes, finks
a man below his natural level. Promif-
cuous commerce gives an indelible vicious
taint to the imagination, fo that, to the
lateft term of life, thofe ideas will be pre-
dominant, which are proper only to
youthful
4
Natural Religion. 95
youthful vigour. And what in nature is
more wretched, abfurd, and defpicable ;
than to have the mind continually haunted
with the idea of pleafures which cannot
X.
be enjoyed ; and which ought to have
been long abandoned, for entertainments
more fuited to years ; and from which,
if perfons had been properly trained, they
would, in the courfe of nature, have been
prepared to receive much greater and
luperior fatisfa&ion.
Befides, all the pleafures of the fexes in
the human fpecies, who cannot fink them-
felves fo low as the brutes, depend much
upon opinion, or particular mental attach-
ment and confequently, they are greatly
heightened by fentiments of love and af~
fetlion^ which have no place with common
profliiutes, or concubines, where the con-
nexion is only occafional or temporary,
and confequently flight. Thofe perfons,
therefore, who give themfelves up to the
lawlefs indulgence of their pafTions, be-
fides being expofcd to the moil loathfome
and
96
Jyfikuies cf
and painful diforders, befides exhaufting
the powers of nature prematurely, and
fubjecting themfclves to fevere remorfe of
mind, have not (whatever they may fancy
or pretend) any thing like the real plea-
fure and fatisfaction that perfons generally
have in the married ftate,
§ 2. Of the pleafures of imagination*
As we ought not to make the gratifica-
tion of our external fenfes the main end of
life, fo neither ought we to indulge our
tafte for the more refined pleafures, thofe
called the pleafures of imagination, with -
out fome bounds. The cultivation of a
tafte for propriety, beauty, and fublimity,
in objects natural or artificial, particularly
for the pleafures cf mufic, painting, and
poetry, is very proper in younger life ;
as it ferves to drawT off the attention from
grofs animal gratifications, and to bring
us a flep farther into intellectual life ; ib
as to. lay a foundation for higher attain-
ments. But if we flop here, and devote
our
Natural Religion.
97
our whole time, and all our faculties to
thefe objects, we (hall certainly fall fhort
of the proper end of life.
i. Thefe objefts, in general, only give
pleafure to a certain degree, and are a
lource of more pain than pleafure when k
performs tafte is arrived to a certain pitch
of correctnefs and delicacy : for then
hardly any thing will pleafe, but every
thing will give difguft that comes not up
to fuch an ideal ftandard of perfection as
few things in this world ever reach : fo
fo that, upon the whole, in this life, at
ieaft in this country, a perfon whofe tafte
is no higher than a mediocrity ftands the
beft chance for enjoying the pleafures of
imagination ; and confequently all the
time and application that is more than
neeefiary to acquire this mediocrity of
tafte, or excellence in the arts refpecting
it, are wholly loft.
Since, however, the perfons and objects
with which a man is habitually conver-
E fant,
9 8 tnjiitutes of
fant, are much in his own power, a con-
fiderable refinement of tafte may not,
perhaps, in ail cafes, impair the happi-
nefs of life, but, under the direction of
prudence may multiply the pleaiures of
it, and give a perfon a more exquifite
enjoyment of it.
2. Very great refinement of tafte, and
great excellence in thofe arts which are
the object of it, are the parents of fuch
exceflive vanity^ as expofes a man to a
variety of mortifications, and difappoint-
ments in life. They are alfo very apt to
produce envy, jealoufy, peevifhnefs, ma-
lice, and other difpofitions of mind, which
are both uneafy to a man's lelf, and dis-
qualify him for contributing to the plea-
fure and happinefs of others. This is
more efpecially the cafe where a man's
excellence lies chiefly in a frngle thing,
which, from confining his attention to it,
will be imagined to be of extraordinary
confequence, while every other kind of
excellence will be undervalued.
3. With
Natural Religion.
99
3. With refpeft to many perfons, a
• great refinement of tafte is attended with
the fame inconveniences as an addi&ednefs
to fenfual pleafure-, for it is apt to lead
them into many expences, and make
them defpife plain honeft induftry ;
whereby they are frequently brought into
a ftate of poverty, furrounded with a thou-
fand artificial wants, and without the
means of gratifying them.
A tafte for thepieafures of imagination
ought, more particularly, to be indulged,
hnd even encouraged, in younger life, in
the interval between a ftate of mere ani-
mal nature, in a child, and the ferious
^urfuits of manhood. It is alfo a means
t)f relaxing the mind from too clofe an
Attention to ferious bufihefs, through the
*Vhole of life, promoting innocent amufe-
\nent, chearfulnefs, and good humour.
Refides, a tafte for natural, and alfo for
artificial propriety, beauty, and fublimity,
has a connection with a tafte for moral
propriety, moral beauty, and dignity ;
E 2 and
1 00
Li/litutes of
and when properly cultivated, enables u
to take more pleaiure in the contempla-
tion of the works, perfections, and pro
vidence of God. Here, indeed, it is, tha
a juft tafte for thefe refined pleafures findi
its higteft and moft perfedt gratification
for it is in thefe contemplations, that in-
ftances of the moft exquifite propriety
beauty, and grandeur occur.
§3-0/ felf inter eft.
A regard to our greateft happinefs was
allowed before to be one of the prope;
rules of our conduct \ but at the fame tirni
it was fhewn to be only one of four; anc
in fadt the proper end of it, or our greatefl
happinefs as individuals, is moft effedtu
ally gained, when it is not itfelf the im,
mediate fcope of our aftions ; that is.
v/hen we have not our intereft direftly ii
viewj but when we are actuated by a
difijiterefted regard to the good of others,
to the commands of God, and to the did
tates of conscience.
i. Wh'
(Natural Religion. 101
i. When we keep up a regard to our-
felves in our conduft, we can never ex-
clude fuch a degree of anxiety, and jea-
loufy of others, as will always make us
in fome degree unhappy and we find by
experience, that no pcrfons have fo true
and unallayed enjoyments, as thole who
lofe fight of themielves, and of all regard
to their own happinefs, in higher and
; greater purfuits.
2. Though it be true, th?t, when our
mtereft is perfectly underftood, it will be
[bund to be beft promoted by thofe ac-
tions which are didtated by a regard to
the good of others, &c. it requires great
comprehension of mind even to fee this,
and much more to act upon it ; fo that if
the bulk of mankind were taught to pur-
fue their own proper happinefs, as the
ultimate end of life, they would be led to
do many things injurious to others, not
yeing able to fee how they could other-
fife make the beft provifion for them-
j'lves.
p: E 3 3. If
102
Infiitutes of
3. If we confult the unperverted dic-
tates of our minds, we fhall feel that there
is a kind of meamufs in a man's a&ing
from a view to his own intereft only *, and
if any perfon were known to have no
higher motive for his conduft, though he
Ihould have fo much comprehenfion of
mind, as that this principle ihould never
miflead him, and every particular aftion
which he was led to by it fhould be, in
itfelf, always right, he would not be al-
lowed to have any moral worth, fo as to
command our efteem ; and he would not
at all engage our love. All we could fay
in his favour would be that he was a pru-
dent man, not that he was virtuous. Nay
we fhould not allow that any man's con-
duel was even right, in the higheft and
moft proper fenfe of the word, unlets he
was influenced by motives of a higher and
purer nature \ namely, a regard to the
Will of God, to the good of others, or to
jjjc diftates of confeience.
It
Natural Religion.
103
It feems to follow from thefe confidera-
tions, that this principle, of a regard to
our higheft intereft, holds a kind of mid-
dle rank between the vices and the virtues ;
and that its principal ufe is to be a means
of raifmo; us above ail the lower and vi-
cious purfuits, to thofe that are higher,
and properly fpeaking virtuous and praiie
worthy. From a regard to our true inte-
reft, or mere felf love, we are firft of all
made fenfible that we ftiould injure our-
feflves by making the gratification of our
fenfes, or the pleafures of imagination,
&c. our chief purfuit, and the great bufi-
nefs and end of life ; and we are convinc-
ed that it is our wifdom to pay a fupreme
regard to the will of our maker, to em^
ploy ourfelves in doing good to others,
and, univerfally, to obey the diftates of
our confciences ; and this perfuafion will
lead us to do thofe things which we know
to be agreeable to thofe higher principles,
though v/e cannot immediately fee them
to be for our intereft.; and, by degrees,
we fhall get a habit of afting in the mod
E 4 pious,
Injlitutes of
pious, generous, and confcientious man-
ner, without ever having our own happi-
nefs in view, Gr in the leaft attending to
any connection, knmediate or diftant, that
our conduct has with it.
On thefe accounts, it feems better not
to confider any kind of felf intereft as an
ultimate rule of our condud but that,
independent of any regard to our own
happinefs, we fliould think ourfelves o-
bliged confcientioufly to do what is right,
and generoufly and difintereftedly to pur-
fue the good of others, though, to all ap-
pearance, we facrifice our own to it ; and at
all events to conform to the will of our
maker, who, {landing in an equal relation
to all his offspring, mud wife the good
of them all, and therefore cannot ap-
prove of our confulting cur own happi-
nefs at the expence of that of others, but
muft rather take pleafure in feeing us ad
upon the maxims of his own generous be-
nevolence ; depending, in general, that
that great, righteous, and good being,
who
Natural Religion.
who approves of our condudl, will not
iuffer us to be lolers by it upon the whole.
There is a lower fpecies of felf intereft,
or felfijlonefs^ confiding in the love of money r
which, beyond a certain degree, is highly
deferving of cenfure. As a means of
procuring ourfelves any kind of gratifica-
tion, that can be purchafed, the love of
money is a paffion of the fame nature with
a fondnefs for that fpecies of pleafure th ri
can be purchafed with it. If, for inftance,
a man makes no other die of his wealth
than to procure the means of fenfual plea-
fure, the love of money, in him, is only
another name for the love of pleafure.
If a man accumulates money with no
other view than to indulge his tafte in the
refined arts above mentioned, his love of
money is the fame thing with a love of
the arts or laftly if a man really intends
nothing but the good of others while he is
amaffing riches, he is adtuated by the
principle of benevolence. In fhort, the
love of money, whenever it is purfued*
E 5 diredtly
1 06 Injiitutes of
direftly and properly, as a means to fome-
thing elfe, is a paffion, the rank of which
keeps pace with the end that is propofed
to be gained by it. But in the purfuit of
riches, it is very common to forget the
ufe of money as a means and to defire
it without any farther end, fo as even to
facrifice to this purfuit all thofe appetites
and paffions, to the gratification of which
it was originally fubfervient, and for the
fake of which only it was originally covet-
ed. In this ftate the love of money, or
the pafllon we call covetoufnefs, is evident-
ly abfurd and wrong.
This grofs felf intereft, which confifts
in an exceffive love of money, as an end,
and without any regard to its ufe, will
fometimes bring a man to abridge himfelf
of all the natural enjoyments of life, and
engage him in the mofl laborious purfuits,
attended with moft painful anxiety of
mind it very often fteels his heart againft
all the feelings of humanity and compaf-
Qpfij and never fails to fill him with envy,
jealouiy,
Natural Religion. 107
jealoufy, and refentment againft all thofe
whom he imagines to be his competitors
and rivals. Much lefs does this fordid
pafllon admit of any of the pleafures that
refult from a confcioufnefs of the appro-
bation of God, of our fellow creatures, or
of our own minds, In fa£t, it deprives a
man of all the genuine pleafures of his
nature, and involves him in much per-
plexity and diftrefs the immediate caufe
of which, though it be often abfurd and
imaginary, is ferious to himfelf, and
makes him appear in a ridiculous light to
others.
All thefe obfervations, concerning the
love of money, are equally true of the
love of power^ or of any thing elfe, that
is originally defirable as a means to fome
farther end, but which afterwards be-
comes itfelf an ultimate end of our ac-
tions. It is even, in a great meafure, true
of the love of knowledge or learning.
This is chiefly ufeful as a means, and is.
valuable in proportion to the end it is fit-
E 6 ted
io8
Injlitittes of
ted to anfwer ; but, together with the
love of riches, and power, it is abfurd,
and to be condemned, when purfued as
an end, or for its own fake only.
The availing of money muft be allow-
ed to be reafonable, cr at leaft excufable,
provided chere be a probability that a man
may live to enjoy it, or that it may be of
ufe to his pofterity, or others in whofe
welfare he interefts himfelf ; but when we
fee a man perfifting in the accumulation
of wealth, even to extreme old age, when
it would be deemed madnefs in him to
pretend that he could have any real want
of it ; when he discovers the fame ava-
ricious temper though he has no children,
and there is no body for whom he is
known to have the leaft regard, it is evi-
dent that he purfues money as an end, or
for its own fake, and not at all as a means
to any thing farther. In this cafe, there-
fore, it is, without doubt, highly crimi-
nal, and defervme of the above mention-
ed ccnfures.
54- Of
Natural Religion. i o 9
§ 4. 0/ the pajjions which arife from cur
fecial nature.
The paflions and affeftions which I
have hitherto confidered are thofe which
belong to us as individuals, and do not
neceffarily fuppofe any relation to other
beings, I fhall now proceed to treat of
thofe v/hich are of this latter clais, and firft
of the pleafure that we take in the good
opinion of others concerning us, which
gives rife to that paffion which we call the
leve of fame.
This is a paffion that difcovers itfelf
pretty early in life, and arifes principally
from our experience and obfervation of
the many advantages that refult from the
good opinion of others. In the early
part of life this principle is of fignal ufe
to us, as a powerful incentive to thofe ac-
tions which procure us the efteem of our
fellow creatures ; which are, in general,
the fame that are dictated by the princi-
ples
I IO
Injiitutes of
pies of benevolence and the moral fenfe,
and alfo by a regard to the will of God.
But though, by this account, the love
of fame is an ufeful ally to virtue, the
gratification of it ought by no means to
be made our primary purfuit; becaufe, if
it were known that fame was the fole end
of a man's actions, he would be fo far
from gaining this end, that he would be
defpifed by mankind in general and e-
fpecially if he were advanced in life, when
it is commonly expected that men fliould
be governed by higher and better princi-
ples. For no a&ions are looked upon by
the bulk of mankind as properly praife
worthy, but thofe which proceed from a
principle of difinterefted benevolence, o-
bedience to God, or a regard to confcience.
2. Befides, humility is a principal fub-
je6t of praife ; and, indeed, without this,
no other virtue is held in much efteem.
Now this humility fuppofes fuch a diffi-
dence of ones felf, fuch a readinefs to ac-
knowledge
Natural Religion. 1 1 1
knowledge the fuperiority of others, and
alfo fo fmall a degree of complacence in
the contemplation of our own excellen-
cies, as muft be inconfiftent with our
making this pleafure our chief purfuit,
and the fource of our greateft happinefs.
3. In another refpect, alfo, the love of
fame, as a primary objedt of purfuit, tends
to defeat itfelf. We are not pleafed with
praife, except it come from perfons of
whofe judgment ^ as well as Sincerity we
have a good opinion but the love of
fame, as our fupreme good, tends to be-
get fuch a degree of felf fufficiency^ and
conceit, as makes us defpife the reft of
mankind, that is, it makes their praife of
little value to us fo that the fprightly
pleafures of vanity naturally give place in
time to all the fullennefs and morofenefs
of pride.
4. If a man have no other obje6t than
reputation or popularity, he will be led
to dwell frequently upon the fubjedt of
his
i. 1 A
Injlkiites of
his own merit, of which he will, confe-
quently, entertain an overweening and un-
reafonable opinion; and this can hardly
fail to produce, befides a moil ridiculous
degree of conceit, fo much envy and jea-
loufy, as Will make him inilifferable in fo-
ciety, and fubjedl him to the moil cutting
mortifications.
5. If a man's principal obje6t be thofe
qualifications and actions which ufually
diftinguiHi men, and make them much
talked of, both in their own and future
ages, fuch as eminence with refpe6l to
genius, excellence in the polite arts, dif-
coveries in fcience, or great achivements
in the arts of peace or war, his chance of
fucceeding is very fmall for it is not pof-
fible that more than z.few perlons, in com-
parifcn, can draw the attention of the
reft of mankind upon them. And be-
fides that the qualifications which are the
foundation of this eminence are very rare
among mankind, fuccefs depends upon
the concurrence of many circumftances^
independent
Natural Religion.
independent on a man's felf. It is plain,
therefore, that very few perfons can rea-
fonably hope to diftinguifh themfelves in
this manner, and it would certainly be
very wrong to propofe that as a principal
object of purfuit to all mankind, which
the bulk of them cannot poflibly obtain,
or enjoy.
The proper ufe of this love of fame, as
of the principle of felf intereft, is to be
a means of bringing us within the influ-
•ence of better and truly virtuous princi-
ples, in confequence of begetting a habit
of doing the fame things which better
principles would prompt to, If, for in-
ftance, a manfhould, firft of all, perform
afts of charity and beneficence from often-
t^tion only, the joy that he actually com-
municates to others, and the praifes he re-
ceives for his generofity, from thofe who
are ftrangers to his real motive, cannot
but give him an idea of the purer plea-
fures of genuine benevolence, from which,
and not from a defire of applaufe only,
he will for the future aft, The
ii4
Injlitutes of
The pleafures that accrue to us from the
purfuit of fame, like thole of fell intereft,
are heft gained by perfons who have them
not direclly in view. The man who is
truly benevolent, pious, and confcien-
tious, will, in general, fecure the mod
folid and permanent reputation writh
mankind ; and if he be fo fituated that
the practice of any real virtue {hall be
deemed unfashionable, and fubjedt him to
contempt and infult, he will have acquir-
ed that fuperiority of mind^ which will fet
him above it ; fo that he will not feel any
pain from the want of fuch efteem, as
muft have been purchafed by the violati-
on, or negleft of his duty. But he will
rather applaud himfelf, and rejoice that he
is not efteemed by perfons of certain cha-
racters, be they ever fo numerous, and
diftinguifhed on certain accounts ; find-
ing more than an equivalent recompence
in the approbation of his own mind, in
the efteem of the wife and good, though
they be ever fo few, and efpecially in the
favour of God, who is the fearcher of
hearts,
Natural Religion .
hearts, the bed judge, and mod munifici-
cnt rewarder of'real worth.
§ 5- Of the fympathetic affefficrts.
A paflion for fame, though it be found-
ed on the relation that men ft and in to one
. another, and therefore fuppofes fociety,
is of a very different nature from the foetal
principle^ properly fo called ; or a diipo*
fuion to love, and to do kind offices to
our fellow creatures*
i. That it is with the greateft jufticc
that this is ranked among our higheft pur-
fuits has been fhewn already. That the
ftudy to do good to others, is placed in
this rank muft be perfeftly agreeable
to the will of God, who cannot but in-
tend the happinefs of all his offspring,
and who is himfelf aftuated by the prin-
ciple of univerfal benevolence. If we
confult the natural diftates of our con-*
fcience, we fhall find that it gives the
ftrongeft approbation to difinterefted be-
nevolence
n6
Injlitutes of
nevolence in ourfelves or others ; and if
we examine how our own higheft intereft
is affedted by it ; we ftiall find that, in
general, the more exalted is our benevo-
lence, and the more we lay ourfelves out
to promote the good of others, the more
perfedt enjoyment we have of ourfelves,
and the more we are in the way of receiv-
ing good offices from others in return \
and, upon the whole, the happier we are
likely to be.
2. A man of a truly benevolent difpo-
fition, and who makes the good of others
the objed of his purfuit, v/ill never want
opportunities of employing and gratifying
himfelf : for we are fo connedted with
and dependent upon one another, the
fmall upon the great, and the great upon
the fmall, that, whatever be a man's fta-
tion in life, if he be of a benevolent dif-
pofition, it will always be in his power to
oblige others, and thereby indulge him-
Mi
3. A
Natural Religion.
117
3. A perfon fo benevolentmay, in ge-
neral, depend upon fuccefs in his fchemes, *
becaufe mankind are previoufly difpofed
to approve, recommend, and countenance
benevolent undertakings ; and though
flich a perfon will fee much mifery and
diftrefs, which he cannot relieve, and which
will, confequently, give him fome pain ;
yet, upon the whole, his pleafures will he
far fuperior to it; and the pains of fym-
pathy do not, in general, agitate the mind
beyond the limits of pleafure. We have
even a kind of fatisfadtion with ourfelves
in contemplating fcenes of diftrefs, though
we can only wifh to relieve the unhappy
fufferers. For this reafon it is that tragic
fcenes, and tragical ftories are fo engag-
ing. This kind of fatisfaftion has even
more charms for mankind in general than
the view of many pleafing fcenes of life.
4. Befides if to the principle of benevo-
lence be added a ftri<5t regard to confid-
ence, and confidence in divine providence,
all the pains of fympathy will almoft
wholly
n8
Injiitutes of
wholly vanifli. If we are confcious that wc
do all we can to aflift and relieve others, we
may have perfedt fatisfa&ion in ourfelves,
and may habitually rejoice in the belief of
the wifdom and goodnefs of God ; being
convinced that ail the evils, which we in-
effectually ftrive to remove, are appointed
for wife and good purpofes ; and that, be-
ing of a temporary nature, they will final-
ly be abforbed in that infinity of happi-
nefs, to which, though in ways unknown
to us, we believe them to be fubfervient.
Every argument by which benevolence
is recommended to us condemns malevo-
lence^ cr a difpofition to rejoice in the mi-
fery, and to grieve at the happinefs of o-
thers. This baleful difpofition may be
generated by frequently confidering our
own intereft as in oppofition to that of o-
thers. For, in this cafe, at the fame time
that we receive pleafure from our own
gain, We receive pleafure alfo from their
lofs, which is conne£led with it \ and for
the fame reafon, when we grieve for our
own
Natural Religion, 1 1 9
own lofs, we grieve at their gain. In this
manner emulation, envy, jealoufy, and at
length aftual hatred, and malice, are pro-
duced in our hearts.
It is for this reafon that gaming is un-
favourable to benevolence, as well as o-
ther virtues, and high gaming exceeding-
ly pernicious. For, in this cafe, every
man's gain is direftly produced by ano-
ther's lofs fo that the gratification of the
one and the difappointment of the other
muft always go together. Indeed, upon
theiame juft principle, all trade and com-
merce, all buying and felling, is wrong,
unlefs it be to the advantage of both parties.
Malevolent difpofitions, befides that
they are clearly contrary to the will of
God, and the diftates of conlcience, are
the fource of much pain and mifery to
ourfelves. They confift of very uneafy
feelings ; fo that no man can be happy,
or enjoy any fetisfa&ion, while he is un-
der the influence of them. Even the
pleafures
1 20
Injlitutes of
pleafures of revenge are ffiocking to think
of, and what a man mufl delpife himfelf
for being capable of relifning and enjoying;
and, they are, in all cafes, infinitely infe-
rior to the noble fatisfadtion which a man
feels in forgiving an injury. There is a
meannefs in the former, but true greatnefs
of mind, and real dignity in the latter,
and the pleafure which it gives does not
pall upon reflection. Befides, a difpofition
to do ill offices to others expofes a man
to the hatred and ill offices of others.
The malevolent man arms all mankind
againft him.
Anger, indeed, is in fome cafes, reafon-
able \ as when it is direfted againft the
vicious, and injurious, who are the pefts
of fociety fo that being enemies to fuch
perfons is being friends to mankind at
large. But here great caution fhould be
ufed, left this paffion of anger ffiould, as it
is very capable of doing, degenerate into
pure ill will towards thofe who are the
objects of it. Nay we fhould never in-
dulge
Natural Religion. 12 1
dulge to anger ib far as to ceafe to have
the real good and welfare of the offender
at heart, but be ready even to do our
greateft perfonal enemies any kind office
in our power, provided that the confe-
quence of it would not be injurious to
lbciety. This, indeed, is what the law of
univerfal benevolence plainly requires, as
it ftrictly forbids the doing any unneceffary
evil \ and that evil is unneceffary, which
the good and happinefs of others does not
require. If, therefore, we would appear
to aft upon this principle, we muft be
careful fo to conduct our refentment, that
it may be manifeft, that it is with reluftance
that we entertain fentiments of enmity.
If it be our duty to bear good will
even to our enemies, much more fliould
we exercife it to our real friends, and ufe
our endeavours to make the mofl ample
return for any kindnefs that they do to us.
Indeed there is no virtue which has a ftron-
gerteftimony in the confciences of all men,
F
than
122
Injlitutcs of
than gratitude* and no vice is univerfally
lb hateful as ingratitude.
If the good of fociety be our objeft,
there can be no queftion, but that veracity,
with refpeft to all our declarations, and
fidelity, with refpc£t to all our engage-
ments, is one of the moft important of all
focial duties. All the purpofes of fociety
would be defeated, if falfehood were as
common as truth among mankind-, and
in thofe circumftances all beneficial inter-
courle would foon ceafe among them ;
and, notwithftanding temporary inconve-
niences may fometimes arife from a rigid
adherence to truth, they are infinitely
overbalanced by the many fuperior advan-
tages that arife from our depending upon
the regard to it being inviolable.
Since an oath, or an appeal to divine
being, is the moft deliberate, and the
moft folemn of all the modes of affevera-
tion, it ought to be the moft fcrupuloudy
obferved. There is not, in the nature of
things,
Natural Religion.
123
things, any ftronger guard againft impo-
fitiori and deceit, and therefore a perfon
v/ho has once perjured himfelf, deferves
not only to be detefted, and fliunned, as
the bane of fociety, but to be expelled out
of it.
§ 5. Of the relative duties.
As we ftand in a variety of relations to
one another, and have much more op-
portunity of doing kind offices to fome
than to others, we cannot fuppofe that
the divine being; intended that our bene-
volence fliould be like his own, univerfal
and impartial. He ftands in the fame re-
lation to all his creatures, and he is capa-
ble of attending to the wants of them all ;
whereas our beneficence is neceffarily li-
mited, and therefore fliould flow the mod
freely towards thofe whom we can moft
conveniently and effectually ferve. Be-
fides the good of the whole will be belt
provided for by every perfon making this
a rule to himfelf ; whereas, if every per-
F 2 fon,
124
Injlitutes of
fon, without any particular regard to his
own limited province, fhould extend his
care to the wants of mankind in general,
very little good would, in fa6t, be done
by any.
The domejlic relations of life are the
foundation of the ftrongeft claim upon
our benevolence and kindnefs. The inte-
refts of hnjband and wife are the fame,
and infeparable, and they mud neceffarily
pafs a very great part of their time toge-
ther. In thefe circumftances, to be mu-
tually happy, their affection muft be
ftrong and undivided. The welfare of
their offspring, likewife, requires this, that
they may give their united care and at-
tention to form their bodies and minds,
in order to fit them for the bufmefs of
life, and to introduce them with advan-
tage into the world.
As nature makes children the charge
of their parents in younger life, fo it lays
an equal obligation on children to provide
for their parents, when they are old and
infirm,
Natural Religion.
infirm, and unable to provide for them-
felves.
Mafters and fervants are under a variety
of mutual obligations ; and if that con-
nexion be happy, and mutually advan-
tageous, there mull be juftice, humanity,
and liberality on the one hand, requited
with fidelity, reafonable fubmiffion, and
affection on the other.
Our own country, likewife, claims a
particular preference. We ought to give
more attention to its welfare than to that
of any other country, and its magiftrates
are intitled to our particular reverence and
refpeft.
It is for the good of the whole that we
proportion our regards and benevolent at-
tention in this manner, that is, regulating
them, according to thofe connexions in
life that are of the moft importance to our
own happinefs but ftill, we fliould never
lofe fight of the relation we ftand in to
F 3 all
Iujlitittes of
all mankind, and all the creation of God
with refpeft to whom we are brethren, and
fellow fubje&s ; and whenever the inte-
refl of ourfelves, our own families, or
country does not greatly interfere, we
fhould lay ourfelves out to do good to
flrangers and foreigners, or to any perfons
that may ftand in need of our affiftance
doing to others as we would they fhould
do to us ; which is a rule of the gofpel
that is perfectly agreeable to natural
reafon.
§ 6. Of the Tbecpathetic affeUions.
As benevolence, or the love of man-
kind, fo alio the love of God, and de-
votednefs to him bears every character of
one of our higheft and moft proper prin-
ciples of conduce.
i. This principle interferes with no
real gratification, but in fuch a manner
that all the reftraint it lays upon any of
them is, in reality, favourable to the true
and
Natural Religion.
127
and perfect enjoyment we derive from
them. No pains that we can expofe our-
felves to for the fake of mortifying our-
felves, can be pleafing to that being who
made us to be happy, and who has, for
that purpofe, given us the power and the
means of a variety of gratifications, fuit-
ed to our ftate and condition. In this ge-
neral manner it is fhewn that the love of
God, and devotednefs to him, is perfectly
agreeable to a regard to our own greateft
good. This principle muft be confident
with our attention to the good of others,
becaufe God is the father of us all, and
we are equally his offspring ; and nature
teaches us to confider him as our father,
moral governor, and judge, and therefore
to reverence, love, and obey him without
referve.
2> An intire devotednefs to God, faith
in his providence, and refignation to his
will, is the beft antidote againft all the
evils of life. If we firmly believe that
nothing comes to pafs, respecting our-
F 4 felves,
128
htjlitutes cf
felves, our friends, and our deareft inte-
refts, but by his appointment or permif-
fion ; and that he appoints or permits
nothing but for the beft purpofes, we fhall
not only acquiefce^ but rejoice in all the e-
vents of life, profperous or adverfe. We
fhall confider every thing as a means to a
great, glorious, and joyful end ; the con-
sideration of which will refledt a luftre
upon every thing that leads to it, that has
any connection with it, or the moft dif-
tant reference to it.
3. Other affeftions may not always
find their proper gratification, and there-
fore may be the occafion of fain as well as
of pleafure to us. Even the moft benevo-
lent purpofes are frequently difappointed,
and without faith in the providence of
God, who has the good of all his offspring
at heart, would be a fource of much fqr-
row and difquiet to us. But the man
whole fupreme delight arifes from the
fenfe of his relation to his maker, from
contemplating his perfe&ions, his works,
and
Natural Religion.
129
and his providence ; and who has no will
but his, muft be poflefled of a never
failing fource of joy and fatisfa&ion.
Every objed: that occurs to a perfon of
this difpofition will be viewed in the moil
favourable light-, and whether it be im-
mediately, pleafurable or painful, the re-
lation it bears to God, and his moral go-
vernment, will make it welcome to him.
4. If we confider the foundation of the
duty and affe&ion we owe to God upon
the natural principles of right and equity,
in the fame manner as, from the fame
natural di&ates, we judge of the duty we
owe to mankind, we cannot but readily
conclude, that, if a human father, bene-
factor, governor, and judge, is intitled ta
our love, reverence, and obedience; he
who is, in a much higher and a more per-
fect fenfe, our father, benefactor, gover-
nor, and judge, muft be intitled to a
greater portion of our love, reverence*
and obedience \ becaufe, in all thefe rela-
tions, he has done, and is continually do-
F s ing
.130 Injtitutes of
kig more to deferve them. Confidering
what we have received, and what we daily
receive from God, even life and all the
powers and enjoyments of it confidering
our prefent privileges, and our future
hopes, it is impoflible that our attention,
attachment, fubmiffion, and confidence,
fhould exceed what is reafonable and pro-
perly due to him.
In the regulation of our devotion, we
fhould carefully avoid both enthuftafm and
fuperJtition> as they both arife from un-
worthy notions of God, and his moral
government. The former confifts in a
childifh fondnefs, familiarity, and warmth
of paffion, and an aptnefs, oa that ac-
count, to imagine that we are the pecu-
liar favourites of the divine being, who is
the father, friend, and moral governor of
all his creatures. Befides this violent af-
feftion cannot, in its own nature, be of
long continuance. It will, of courfe, a-
bate of its fervour ; and thofe who have
given way to it will be apt to think of
God
Natural Religion.
131
God with the other extreme of coldnefs
and indifference ; the confequence of which
is often extreme deje&ion, fear, anxiety,
and diftruft \ and fometimes it ends in de-
fpair, and impiety.
On the other hand, fuperjlition arifes
from miftaking the proper objedt of the-
divine favour and approbation, for want
of having a juft idea of the moral perfec-
tions of God, and of the importance of
real virtue. Perfons of this character are
extremely pun6lual with refpeft to the
means and circumfiantials of religion, or
things that have only an imaginary rela-
tion to it, and may be quite foreign to
its real nature inftead of bringing to
God the devotion of the heart, and the
proper fruits of it, in the faithful dif-
charge of the duties of life, in the per-
fonal and focial capacities. The omiffion
of fome mere form, or ceremony, fhall
givefuch perfons more real uneafinefs than
the negleft of a moral duty and when
they have complied with all the forms
F 6 which:
132
Injiitutes of
which they think requifite to be obferved,
their confciences are intirely eafy, their
former guilt has no preffure, and they are
ready to contradt new debts, to be wiped
off in the fame manner Almoft all the
religion of the Mahometans and Papifts
confifts in this kind of fuperftition, and
there is too much of it in all fedts and de-
nominations of chriftians. I cannot give
a clearer idea of the nature of fuperftition
than by what appeared in the condudl of
fome Roman Catholicks in Ireland, who,
I have been told, broke into a houfe,
where they were guilty of robbery and
murder, but, fitting down to regale them-
felves, would not tafte flefh meat, becaufe
it was Friday.
There is no quality of the heart fo va-
luable as a juft and manly piety, and no-
thing fo abject and pernicious as fuperfti-
tion. Superftition and enthufiafm are ge-
nerally denominated the two extremes of
religion, and in fome fenfes they are fo ;
but, at the fame time, they have a near
conne&ioa
Natural Religion . 133
connexion with one another, and nothing
is more common than for perfons to pafs
from the one to the other, or to live un-
der the alternate, or even the conftant in-
fluence of them both, without entertain-
ing one fentiment of generous and ufeful
devotion. Indeed the ufual ground of
the prefumption and rapture of the en-
thufiaft is fome external obfervance, or in-
ternal feeling, that can have no claim to
the folid approbation of a reafonable
being.
§ 7. Of the obligation of confcience.
In order to govern our conduct by
a regard to our true intereft, to the
good of mankind, or the will of God,
it is necefiary that we ufe our reafon, that
we think and refleft before we aft. Ano-
ther principle, therefore, was neceflary,
to didtate to us on fudden emergencies^
and to prompt us to right adlion without
reafoning or thinking at all. This princi-
ple we call confcience, and being the natural
fab-
134
Infiitutes of
fubftitute of all the three other rules of
right conduct, it muft have the fame title
to our regard. As tins principle, how-
ever, is a thing of a variable nature, it
muft be corrected from time to time, by
recurring to the principles out of which
it was formed. Ctherwife, as we fee ex-
emplified in fadl, conference may come to
dictate things moft injurious to our own
good, or that of others, and even moll
difhonourable to God. What impurities,
what ridiculous penances and mortificati-
ons, vea what villainies and cruelties do
we not find to have been a£led by man-
kind, under the notion of rendering them-
felves acceptable to the object of their
iupreme worfhip.
If, however, a perfon has been well
educated in a christian and proteftant
country, and has lived fome time under
the influence of good impreffions, fuch as
are favourable to virtue and happinefs,
the dictates of his confeience (which has
been formed from thofe good principles)
will
Natural Religion
*35
will generally be right, and may be de-
pended upon not to miflead him. At all
events, it is very dangerous to flight and
difregard the real di&ates of our own
minds, fo as either to do what we have a
feeling of as wrong, and what we con-
demn ourfelves for at the time, or to for-
bear to do what appears to us to be right,
what we ought to do, and what we feel a
fudden impulfe to do. For if we can
difregard even an erroneous confcience we
may come to difregard the authority of
confcience in general, and as fuch, which after
all, is the fureft and beft guardian of our
virtue.
2. If the principle of confcience has
been well formed, in confequence of a
juft train of fentiments, and proper im-
preflions, fince it is the refult of rational
felf intereft, benevolence, and piety, joint-
ly, it may be confidered as the very quin-
teffence and perfection of our rational
natures ; fo that to do a thing becaule it
is right 1 will be to a£t from a nobler, and
more
136 Injiitutes of
more exalted principle of conduct, than
any oi the others. For it is, in fa6t, every
juft principle united, and reduced into
one ; and, on this account, it will natu-
rally claim the pre-eminence over the dic-
tates of any of them fingly, fuppofmg
them to claih ; and many cafes may be
put, in which it ought to correal and
over rule any of them.
The regard I have to my own intereft,
believing it to be my higheft, the love I
bear to my fellow creatures, or even what
I take to be the command of God, may
dictate one thing, when my fenfe of right
and wrong, whether natural or acquired,
may diflate another ; and it may be fafeft
and beft for me to follow this guide.
Thus a papift may really believe that he
does good to the fouls, by tormenting the
bodies of his fellow creatures, and thereby
does God fervice, and that it is no fin to
deceive hereticks ; but if he feel an in-
ward reludtance in purfuing perfecuting
meafures, and cannot tell a deliberate
fallhood
Natural Religion.
*37
falfhood without compunction, we fhould
not hefitate to pronounce, that he would
do well to forbear that conduft, notwith-
itanding his belief that he is thereby con*
fulting the good of mankind, and the
glory of God at leaft till he hath care-
fully compared the dictates of his confer-
ence with what he imagined to be the
command of God.
3. The fatisfaftion that refults from obey-
ing the dictates of confeience is of a folid
and permanent kind, and affords confola-
tion under all the pains and troubles of
life. Whatever befall a man, if he can
fay that he hath done his duty^ and can
believe himfelf, he will not be wholly un-
happy. On the other hand, the pangs
of a guilty confeience are the moft intole-
rable of all evils. One villainous adtion
is fufficient to imbitter a man's whole life,
and years of remorfe will not make the
reflection upon it lefs cutting and difquiet-
ing. All the riches, honours, and luxury
of life are not fufficient to give eafe to the
jnind
138
Injlitutes of
mind of that man, who thoroughly con-,
demns and abhors himfelf.
4. This mechanical and neceffary deter-
mination in favour of fome adtions, and
againft others, being either connate with
the mind, or, which comes to the fame
thing, arifmg neceffarily from our confti-
trution, as influenced by the circumftances
of our being, muft have been intended
for fome very important purpofe \ and
this, in its own nature, can be no other
than to be the monitor and guide of life.
It is, in a manner, felt to be the reprefenta-
tive of God himfelf, and therefore, its
fentence will be confidered as the forerun-
ner of the righteous fentence which our
maker and fovereign judge will pafs upon
us. It is not only prefent pain that dif-
quiets the guilty mind, but a dread of fu-
ture and divine judgments \ as, on the
other hand, the approbation of our own
hearts is the moft pleafing feeling a man
can have, not on its own account, fo much
as its being a kind of certificate of the di-
vine
Natural Religion. 139
vine approbation, and a foretafte of his
future favour and reward.
SECTION IV.
Of the means of virtue.
T TAVING thus fliown the rank and
jLJL value of all our paflions and af-
fections, or the regard that is due to each
in the conduit of our lives. I fhall give
fome praftical directions, how to fupprefs
what is irregular and vicious, and pro-
mote what is right and virtuous in us.
r. If any of our inferior paflions have
gained the afcendency in us, fo that a
propenfity to any fpecies of indulgence is
become exceffive, and, in confequence of
it, bad habits have been formed, it is
certainly
140
Inftttutes of
certainly a man's wifdom, as foon as he
begins to fufpeft that he is in a wrong
courfe, to weigh in his own mind fuch
con fide rations as have been mentioned
above, reipecting the nature and tendency
of our paffions ; that he may thoroughly
convince himfelf how foolilh a part he has
chofen for himfelf, how injurious his con-
duct is to others, how difpleafing to his
maker, and how much it is the caufe of
fhame and remorfe to himfelf. It is ge-
nerally through want of timely reflections
that men abandon themfelves to irregular
indulgences, and contract bad habits ;
fo that if they would give themfelves time
to think, and confider deliberately of the
nature and confequencesof their conduft,
they would chufe a wrife and virtuous
courfe. For no man is fo infatuated as,
that, when no particular temptation is
prefent, when he is perfectly mailer of
himfelf, and cannot but fee what is for
his true intereft, purpofely and knowingly
to lay afide all regard to it. All man-
kind wHfa to be happy, and no man can
voluntarily
Natural Religion. 141
voluntarily chufe to be miferable. Were
any man, therefore, truly fenfible, that
there is no kind of vice to which he does
not facrifice either the health of his body,
his reputation with the thinking part of
mankind, or even his worldly interefb,
fometimes all thefe together, and always
the peace and tranquillity of his mind,
who would chufe to perfift in it admitting
that a regard to the good of others, and
to the known will of God ftiould have no
weight among them ; though there are
few perfons, I believe, who are not more
or lefs influenced even by thefe generous
and difmterefted confiderations.
2. Particular care fhould be taken on
our entrance into the world, that we con-
tract no bad habits ; for fuch is the nature
of habits, that when once a man has been
accuftomed to any thing, it may give him
the greateft pain to break himfelf of it,
even though he have no pleafure, yea
though he be really unhappy in continuing
in it. Youth is, on every account, that
time
142
Injlitutes of
time of life which requires our greateft
attention, for then only is the mind fuf-
ceprible of new imprefftons, fo as to be
capable of changing for the better. When
once a man's connexions and mode of
life have been fettled, which is generally
before, or foon after he is arrived at thir-
ty years of age, the bent of his mind is
compleatly formed, and it is a thoufand
to one but that after this there will be no
material change in his difpofition or con-
duct to the end of his life. If his mind
be vitiated then, there is little hope of a
change, without a total revolution in his
connections and affairs ; or unleis his
mind be roufed by fome uncommon ca-
lamity. In this cafe, entering, as it were,
upon life again, with wifdom bought by
experience, his old connections being
broken, and new ones to be formed, he
may chufe a wifer courfe, and in time
may make it familiar and pleafing to him.
But itill there is great danger of his re-
lapfing into his former habits, the ftrft op-
portunity.
A new
Natural Religion. 143
A new fet of principles, new views and
expectations may be equivalent to fuch an
intire revolution in a man's affairs as was
mentioned above. For many perfons are
fo difpoicd that if they had more know-
ledge they would have more virtue. Thus
the doftrines of a refurreftion, and of a
future ftate of retribution, produced a
very great and fpeedy change in the mo-
ral ftate of the heathen world, at the
firft promulgation of chriftianity, affedting
the old as well as the young. But when
nothing new takes place, with refpect ei-
ther to a man's circumftances, or his know-
ledge, there is but little probability that
his condud will be materially affefted by
an attention to truths and fails, to the con-
templation of which he has been long ac-
cuftomed.
3. If bad habits have, unhappily, been
formed, and a man thinks he has ftrength
of mind to break through them, he has
no other way but refolutely to avoid every
aflbciated circumftance belonging to them,
whatever
1 44
Injlitutes of
whatever can fo much as lead him to think
of his former vicious pleafures particular-
ly the company he has formerly kept, and
by whofe example, infinuations, and feli-
citations, he has been feduced. A man
who confides in his fortitude, and wilfully
runs into temptation, is almoft fure to be
overcome. Our only fafety, in thefe cafes,
confifts in flying from the danger, through
a wife diftruft of ourfelves.
4. We mull, alfo, refolutely do what-
ever we are convinced is right, whether
we can immediately take pleafure in it or
not. Let a man invariably do his duty,
and he will, in time, find a real fatisfadion
in it, which will increafe, as right con-
duit grows more habitual ; till, in time,
notwithftanding the reludtance with which
he entered upon a virtuous courfe, he
will have the moft fincere pleafure in it,
on its own account. He will love virtue
for its own fake, and will not change his
courfe of life, even though it fhould not
be the moft advantageous to him for the
prefent.
Natural Religion
prefent. If the moft felfifli perfon in the
world would make a point of doing gene-
rous things, and thus get a cuftom of be-
friending and relieving others, till he
fliould look upon it as his indifpenfable
bufinefs, and his proper employment^ he
would, at length, find fatisfa£tion in it,
and would a6t habitually from the pure
principles of benevolence.
5. The contemplation of virtuous cha-
racters is a great means of infpiring the
mind with a love of virtue. If a man at-
tentively confiders the hiftory of a virtu-
ous perfon, he cannot help entering into,
and approving his fentiments, and he will
intereft himfelf in his fate. In fliort, he
will feel himlelf difpofed to aft the fame
part in the fame circumftances. It is not
equally advifable to ftudy the lives, and
contemplate the characters of vicious per-
fons, with a view to be deterred from the
practice of vice, by means of the horror
with which it would infpire us. Becaufe,
when the mind is familiarized to anything,
G N the
146
Injiitutes of
the horror with which we firft viewed it,
in a great meafure, ceafes and let a man
have been ever fo wicked, and his fchemes
ever fo deteftable, it is hardly poffible (if
his character and hiftory have been for a
long time the principal obje6t of our at-
tention) not to intereft ourfelves in his af-
fairs, fo as to be pleafed with the fuccefs
of his fchemes and ftratagems. There
will be the more danger of this effect, if
fuch a perfon have any good qualifications
to recommend him and no man is fo far
abandoned to vice, as to be intirely defti-
tute of all amiable and engaging qualities.
Vice joined with wit and humour, or
any talent by which a man gives pleafure,
or excites admiration is exceedingly dan-
gerous ; more efpecially if a perfon of a
profligate charafter be pofleffed of any
real virtues, particularly fuch as ftrike the
mind with an idea of dignity and generojity.
Thus courage, and humanity too often
cover and recommend the moft fcandalous
vices, and even fuch as really tend to make
men
Natural Religion. 147
men cowardly, treacherous, and cruel \
and which, at length, extinguifli every
fpark of generofity and goodnefs in the
heart.
6. In order to cultivate the virtues of
piety or devotion to the moft advantage,
it feems hecefiary that we frequently me-
ditate upon the works, the attributes, and
the character of the divine being, and on
the benefits which we daily receive from
his hands ; that we, more efpecially, re-
flect upon his univerfal pretence, and pro-
vidence till every object, and every oc-
currence fnall introduce the idea of God,
as our creator, preferver, benefadtor, mo-
ral governor, and judge. In this cafe a
regard to him cannot fail habitually to in-
fluence our difpofitions and condudt, fo
as to prove the ftrongeft prefervative a-
gainft all vice and wickednefs.
7. Prayer mud be joined to meditation.
We muft frequently addrefs ourfelves to
God, expreffing our veneration for his
G 2. character,
148
Infiitiites of
character, our gratitude for his favours
to us, our humiliation for our offences,
our devotednefs to his will, our refigna-
tion to his providence, and alfo our defire
of any thing that he knows to be really
good for us. This kind of intercourfe
with the deity tends greatly to ftrengthen
every proper difpofition of mind towards
him. Prayer is the univerfal dictate of
nature, not fophifticated by the refine-
ments of philofophy and, in fad, has
been the praftice of all mankind.
Befides, though God be fo great and
good, though he knows all our wants,
and is at all times difpofed to grant us e-
very proper bleffing yet he who made
us, fo as that we cannot help having re-
courfe to him as our father, benefaftor,
and protestor, in the fame manner as we
have recourfe to our fuperiors and bene-
factors on earth, will no doubt approve,
encourage, and condefcend to that man-
ner of behaviour and addrefs to him, which
the fame difpofitions and circumftances
neceffarily
Natural Religion .
149
neceffarily prompt us to with refpedt to
one another. We may affure ourfelves,
therefore, that the divine being will realize
our natural conceptions of him, and re -
ward his humble worfhippers. Since we
cannot rife to him, and conceive of him
in a manner that is flrictiy agreeable to
his nature, and fince our intercourfe with
him is neceflary to our virtue and happi-
nefs, he will certainly condefcend to us ;
fo that we may depend upon finding him
to be what the beft of his creatures hope,
and expect concerning him.
It will not therefore be the fame thing,
whether we apply to him for the good
things we {land in need of, or not. Do
not the wifeft and beft of parents act in
the fame manner towards their children ?
It has been the fource of great error, and
rafli judgment concerning the ways of
God, to confine ourfelves to the confide-
ration of what God is in himfelf^ and not
to confider what it even becomes his wif-
dom and goodnefs, both to reprefent him-
G 3 felf,
ISO
Injiitutes of
felf, and actually to be, with refpect to his
imperfefl creatures.
Befides, if good difpqfitions be regarded
as the only objedt and end of prayer, it
fhould be confidered, that an addrefs to
God for what we want is a teft of good
difpofitions, as well as a means of improv-
ing them, fuppofing it be known to be the
wrill of God, that we fhould pray to him.
But it muft be acknowledged that, with-
out revelation, or fome exprefs intimation
of the will of God, in this refpeft, the
reafonablenefs and obligation of prayer is
not fo clearly, though fufficiently evident.
In faft, there are fimilar reafons for
cjking favours of God, as for thanking him
for the favours we have received \ fince it
may be faid, that if we be truly grateful,
it is quite unneceffary to tell the divine
being that we are fo ; and thus all inter-
courfe with God by words muft be cut
off. But certainly there can be no real
impropriety in expreJHng by v/ords what-
ever
Natural Religion . i j- 1
ever is the language of the heart and it
can only be an unreafonable-and danger-
ous refinement to diftinguifh, in this cafe,
between love, gratitude, defire, or any
other difpofition of mind.
g 3
PART
Injlitutes of
PART III.
Of the future expectations of mankind.
TJAVING endeavoured to invefti-
JlJ. gate ths rules of human duty, from
the principles of natural reafon, I fhall
proceed to afcertain, from the fame prin-
ciples, what we have to expeft in confe-
quence of our obfervance, or negleft of
them.
The natural rewards of virtue, and the
punifhments of vice, in this life, have
been already mentioned occafionally. I,
therefore, propofe, in this feftion, to con-
fider the evidence with which nature fur-
nifhes us concerning a future life, impar-
tially ftating both its ftrength and its
weaknefs.
x. The
Natural Religion. 15
I. The argument that, in general, has
the moft weight with the wife and good,
in favour of a future life, is the promif-
cuous and unequal diftribution of good
and evil in this world, in a general, in-
deed, but by no means an exacl proportion
to the degrees of moral worth •, which
feems to be inconfiftent with the perfe6l
goodnefs and rectitude of God, as our
moral governor. If, together with his
attributes of infinite wifdom and power,
he be alfo a lover of virtue, may it not be
expected, it is faid, that he will reward it
more completely than is generally done in
this world, efpecially in the cafe of a man
facrificing his life to his integrity, when
he evidently cuts himfelf off from all prof-
pea of any reward, except in afutureftate.
It is acknowledged, that in this life we
find all the perfeaion we could wifh, con-
fidering it as a ftate of trial and difcipline
in which to form virtuous char abler s, but
In order to complete the fcheme, it feems
to require another ftate, to which it may
be fubfervient, and in which the characters-
G 4
Inftitutes of
that are formed here, may have a fuitable
employment and reward.
2. There is in the human faculties a
capacity for endlefs improvement in a con-
ftant advance from fenfual to intellectual
pleafures, and thefe growing more com-
plex and refined ad infinitum, provided it
was not checked by that change in our
conftitution, which is at prefent produced
by our approach to old age. Our com-
p'ehenfion of mind^ likewife, increafes with
the experience of every day ; whereby we
are capable of enjoying more of the paft
and of the future together with the pre-
fent, without limits, and whereby our
happinefs is capable of growing continual-
ly more ftable and more exalted. In com-
parifon of what we are evidently capable
of, our prefent being is but the infancy
of man. Here we acquire no more than
the rudiments of knowledge and happi-
nefs. And can it be confiftent with the
wifdom of God, to leave his workman-
fhip fo unfinilhed, as. it muft be, if a final
flop
Natural Religion.
l$5
ftop be put to all our improvements at
death ?
It is true, that we have no faculties but
what have fome proper exercife in this life,
and there is a kind of redundancy in all the
powers of nature. It is the beft provi-
fion againft a deficiency. Brute creatures
too have faculties fimilar to ours, fince
they differ from us in degree more than in
kind. But then the difference is fo great,
efpecially with refpeit to fome men and
fome brutes, and man is fo evidently the
moft diftinguifhed of all the creatures of
God upon the face of the earth, that there
feems to be foundation enough for our
expe&ing a preference in this refped. Or,
if the brute creation fhould be interefted
in a future life, we fhall certainly have
more reafon to rejoice in it, than to be of-
fended at it ; and many of them feem to
have more pain than pleafure in this.
We fee, indeed, that many things ne-
ver a&ually arrive at what we call their
G 5 perfeff
Injlitutes of
ferfeff fiate. For example, few feeds ever
become plants, and few plants live to bear
fruit ; but flill fome of each fpecies come
to maturity, and are whatever their na-
ture is capable of being. Allowing,
therefore, that, agreeably to this analo-
gy, very few of mankind fhould arrive
at the proper perfection of their natures,
we might imagine that, at leafl, fome
would and therefore that the wife and
the virtuous, if none elfe, might hope to
furvive that wreck, that would overwhelm
the common mafs of their fpecies.
It muft be acknowledged that, confi-
dering only what we know of the confti-
tution of the body and the mind of man,
we"' fee no reafon to expe£t that we fhall
furvive death. The faculties and opera-
tions of the mind evidently depend upon
the ftate of the body, and particularly
that of the brain. To all appearance,
they grow, decay, and perifh together.
But if the goodnefs, the wifdom, and the
rcftitude of the divine being require it,
he
Ndtural Religion . 157
he can eafily revive both, or continue the
fame confcioufnefs (which is, in fad, our-
fehes) in fome other way,
If we had known nothing of a child but
its condition in the womb, we fhould have
pronounced, that its fudden tranfition
into a ftate fo different from it as that
which it comes into after birth, would
be certain death to it, though, now that
we are acquainted with both the Hates,
and can compare them together, we fee
that the one is preparatory to the other.
Equally unfit are we, in this life, to pro-
nounce concerning the real nature of what
we call death ; and when we aftually
come to live again, we may fee an evident/
and even a natural connexion betwixt this
life and the future, and may then under-
ftand the ufe of death, as a paffage from the
one to the other ; juft as we now fee the
neceffityof the birth of a child, in order
to its tranfition to our prefent mode of
exiftence.
Admitting
Inftitutes of
Admitting that death is an intire cefla-
tion of thought, fimilar to a ftate of 'per-
fectly found fleep, or a ftupor, yet, if
the purpofes of God's providence and mo-
ral government require it, he can make
us to awake from this fleep at any diftance
of time and then the interval, let it have
been ever fo long, will appear as nothing
to us.
I cannot fay that I lay much ftrefs upon
the arguments which fome have drawn ei-
ther from the dejire, or \ht belief of a future
life among mankind ; becaufe the former
is nothing, in faft, but a defire of happi-
nefs, and fimilar to other defires, which,
in a thoufand refpefts, we do not fee to
be gratified ^ and other general opinions
may perhaps be mentioned, which, ne-
verthelefs, are not true.
The general belief and expectation of
a future life is a confideration of impor-
tance, but only as a proof of an early
tradition^ which was probably denied from
fome
Natural Religion. 159
fome revelation on that fubje£t, commu-
nicated by God to the firft parents of
mankind.
Upon the whole I cannot help thinking,
that there is fomething in the arguments
above recited, which fhew that a future
life is very agreeable to the appearances
of this, though I do not think them
fo linking, as to have been fufficient, of
themfelves, to have fuggefted the firft
idea of it. And though, if we had never
heard of a future life, we might not have
expe&ed it \ yet now that we have heard
of it, we may be fenfible that we fhould
do violence to nature, if we ftiould ceafe
to hope for, and believe it.
Admitting that there is another life, tak-
ing place either at death, or at fome fu-
ture period, it muft be acknowledged,
that our condition in it is, at prefent, in
a great meafure unknown to us \ but
fmce the principal arguments in favour of
it are drawn from the confideration of the
moral
i6o
Injlitutes of
moral government of God, we may de-
pend upon it, that virtue will find an ade-
quate reward in it, and vice its proper
puniftiment. But of what kind, it is im-
poffible for us to fay.
We feem, however, to have fufficient
reafon to conclude that, fmce both the
happinefs and mifery of a future life will
be proportioned to the degrees of virtue
and vice in this, they muft both be 'finite ;
that is, there muft be a continuance of
virtue, to fecure a continuance of reward,
and a continuance in vice to deferve a
continuance of punifhment.
Although the goodnefs of God fliould
give a preheminence to virtue and the re-
wards of it, in a future ftate, yet we do
not fee that even his jufiice, in any fenfe
of the word, can require him to do the
fame with refpedt to vice. Indeed, v/e
muft: give up all our ideas of proportion
between crimes and punifhment that is all
our ideas of juftice and equity, if we fay
that a punifhment ftri&ly fpeaking infinite,
either
Natural Religion .
either in duration or degree, can be in-
curred by the fin of a finite creature, in a
finite time, efpecially.confidering the frailty
of human nature, the multiplicity of temp-
tations with which fome poor unhappy
wretches are befet, and the great difad-
vantages they labour under through life.
There is, indeed, a fenfe, and a very
alarming one too, in which future pu-
niihments, though not ftriftly fpeaking
infinite, may, neverthelefs, be without
end, and yet be confiftent with the per-
fed re&itude and goodnefs of God. For
the wicked, though confined to a fituation
which, after fome time at leaft, may not
be abfolutely, and in itfelf, painful, may
be for ever excluded from a happier fitu-
ation, to which they fee the virtuous ad-
vanced. And having this continually in
profpedt, and knowing that there is an
utter impoffibility of their ever regaining
the rank they have loft by their vices,
they may never ceafe to blame and re-
proach themfelves for their folly, which
cannot
162
Injlitutes of
cannot be recalled, and the effefts of
which are irreverfible.
If we argue from the analogy of na-
ture, we fnall rather conceive, that, fince
pain, and evils of every kind, are falutary
in this life, that they will have the fame
tendency and operation in a future, and,
confequently, that they will be employed
to correft, meliorate, and reform thofe
who are expofed to them ; fo that, after
a fufficient time of purification, thofe who
are not made virtuous by the fufFerings
and difcipline of this life, will be recover-
ed to virtue and happinefs by the long
continuance of unfpeakably greater fuf-
ferings, and of a much feverer difciplim
in the life to come.
Since, however, the longer we live in
this life, the more fixed are our habits,
and difpofitions of mind, fo that there is
an aftonifhing difference between the flexi-
bility, as we may call it, of a child, and
that of a grown man, our conftitution af-
ter
Natural Religion.
163
ter death may be fuch, as that any change
in the temper of our minds will be brought
about with much more difficulty, fo that
a fpace of time almoft incredible to us at
prefent, may be neceffary, in order that
the fufferings of a future life may have
their proper effe£t, in reforming a perfon
who dies a flave to vicious habits.
The motives to virtue by no means lofe
any of their real force from the confide*
ration of the non eternity of future punifk-
ments, efpecially upon the fuppofition that
they will be very intenfe, and lafting,
though not abfolutely without end. For,
in the firft place, what is loft with refpeft
to the motive of terror and aftonifhment,
is gained by that of love, and the perfua-
fion of the greater regard, in the divine
being, both to juftice and mercy, in not
retaining anger for ever, on account of the
finite offences of his imperfect creatures.
Secondly, If the mind of any man be fo
hardened, that he will not be influenced
by the expectation of a very long continu-
ance
164 Injlitutes of
tinuahce of punifliment, a thoufand
jears for inftance, he will not, in fad,
be influenced by the expectation of any
fuffering at all, even that of eternal
and infinite fuffering. For, in reality,
if the fear of the former do not affedt him,
and Hop his career of vice, it muft be
owning to his not allowing himfelf time
to think and refledt upon the fubject.
For no man who really thinks and believes^
can be guilty of fuch extreme folly, as to
purchafe a momentary gratification at fo
difproportioned a price and if a man do
not think about the matter, but will fol-
low his appetites and paffions without any
reflection, all difference, in the inten-
fity or duration of punilhment, is wholly
loft upon him.
In fa£t, we fee that the bulk of profef-
fing chriftians, who, if they were afked,
would acknowledge their belief of the
eternity of hell torments, are by no means
effectually deterred from vice by their be-
lief of it. Rather, the vaftnefs of the
thing creates a kind of fecret incredulity.
They
Natural Religion. 165
They have a notion that the thing may
not, in reality, take place ; and, thinking
of no medium, they fecretly flatter thern-
felves with the hope of meeting with no
punifhment at all, and confequently in-
dulge the vain hope of going to heaven,
with a ftate of mind exceedingly unfit for
it, rather than fufFer a puniftiment fo vaft-
ly difproportioned to the degree of their
guilt. Whereas, if they had been taught
to expeft only a juft and adequate punifh-
ment, for all their offences here ; and elpe-
cially fuch as was neceflary to their puri-
fication and happinefs, their minds might
have acquiefed in it, they might have be-
lieved it firmly and pradtically, and fuch
a belief might really have influenced their
conduct,
But laftly, it is perhaps more agree-
able to the analogy of nature and (this
guide only I am now following) to expedt,
that, as the greater part of natural pro-
; du6lions never arrive at their proper ma-
turity, but perilh long before they have
attained
i66
Injtitntes of
attained to it, fo the bulk of mankind, who
never attain to any high degrees of wif-
dom or virtue, fhould finally perifh alfo,
and be entirely blotted out of the creation,
as unworthy to continue in itj while the
few who are wife and virtuous, like full
ripe fruits, are referved for future ufe.
And there is fomething fo dreadful in the
idea of annihilation^ as will, perhaps,
affedt the mind of fome perfons more than
the fear -Gf future iorments, with conti-
nuance of life, and confequently with
fecret hope.
Thefe fpeculations, it muft be owned,
are, in a great meafure, random and vague,
but they are the beft, as it appears to me,
that we can form to ourfelves by the light
of nature. What revelation teaches us
concerning fo difficult but important a
fubje6t, we fhall fee in its proper place.
Such are the conclufions which nature
teaches or rather which fhe ajferts to con-
cerning the nature, and perfections of
God,
Natural Religion.
167
God, the rule of human duty, and the
future expectations of mankind. I fay
affents to9 becaufe, if we examine the ac-
tual ft ate of this kind of knowledge, in
any part of the world, not enlightened by
revelation, we fhall find their ideas of
God, of virtue, and of a future ftate,
to have been very lame and imperfect, as
will be fhewn more particularly when we
confider, in the next part of this courfe,
:he want and the evidence of D I V I N E
REVELATION.
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